Thel Valamdaee

[Jazen]

Faction: Mandolarion Military
Department: Intelligence/Special Forces
Rank: Corporal

Name: Thel 'Valamdaee
Race: Levianeili
Age: 36
Height: 7'5
Weight: 269 lbs
Birth place: Leviantalos

Appearance: Thel, like the rest of his species, is a monster to look upon. From the top of his head to the tips of his toes is a being designed to be a warrior in every way. Like all members of his kind, Thel has a brownish colored skin that has a leathery shine to it. The skin is as touch as leather as well, making it strong enough to take a minor hit with relative ease. His eyes, a dark shade of green, is an uncommon color among his species, yet this attracts little more than a possible second glance. Mixed with the yellow slit in the middle with a black core, Thel's eyes give him a frightening stare even to the most hardened. Four powerful mandible's, lined with six razor sharp canine teeth on each one, form his mouth. A large scar digs its way across his upper scalp, from below his left eye up to the tip of his head and down to the crown of the back of his head. Because he almost always is seen with his helmet on, not many know of or have even seen this scar.

Like his breathen, Thel's body is a muscular work of art. Finely toned muscles give him an imposing figure, increasing his already incredible size. Standing at 7'5, an above average height for his kind, Thel rarely has to look up to meet someone's eyes. His form is often hunched however; knees bent, back hunched forward, his neck allowing him to easier look down to his smaller comrades. His arms, powerful and lean, extend down to just below his waist, giving him a reach much longer than your average human. Along with the muscles earned over years of training are countless scars, rights of passage obtained in his training. The scars vary in shape and size, most of them from fights against his fellow Levianeili. The others, more specifically the much longer ones, come from his swordsmen training and trial. Unlike the scar his helmet hides, these scars are too numerous to be hidden by his armor; bits and pieces of them are clearly visible even while he is fully armored.

Thel almost always wears his customized Levianeili armor, even while not on duty. Since leaving his planet, Thel has modified his armor's appearance from its normal black tinge, coloring it a dark green to match his own eyes. Crimson lines dot the chest, shoulder and leg guards, while a black symbol from his home dots his gloved hands. Being a former Nra'ke, Thel's helmet is a completely sealed one, hiding his facial appearance from others. Like the rest of his armor, it had been colored to match and a single curved fin has been added to the top, extending backwards to the back of his head. A T shaped visor of the Mandolarion people extends from the tip of his nose to reach either side of his helmet, extending over his eyes. To further add to it, Thel has added two elongated spikes that extend from either side of his helmet just below the eyes to rest several inches past the main helmet, resembling tusks. However, he still retains his standard helmet and wears it whenever he does not feel the need to mask his face. Usually, this is because he is speaking with a superior or wishes to express fear in someone, even though either helmet would serve to do that. Thel's armor is also made with Mandolarion Iron, or Beskar. He was granted the right to build his armor when he passed the verd'goten, which granted him official status as a member of the Mandolarion culture. This makes it highly resistant to energy based weapons on top of its hard exterior.

The only time Thel does not wear his armor is when he is alone, resting or visiting his homeworld. In the armors place lies a basic robing of his species. Covering his body from the upper neck all the way down to his ankles, the robe is fairly light and allows for a great deal of movement despite its hulky appearance. If one had to compare it to a form of clothing worn by humans, it would most resemble a kimono. The robe completely masks the body underneath, save for the head, neck and bare feet. The sleeves reach down to the wearer's wrists, with enough room for one to place their arms in the opposite robe without difficulty. The bottom fits loosely over the legs, allowing them enough room to move but not leaving a lot of excess. Rarely do robes from Leviantalos match one another in design however, even if the differences are small and subtle. In Thel's case, his robes are a sandy beige. Green adorns his collar, cuffs and the base of the robe, while a light brown covers his chest area on either fold. The sash matches the robe in color, although it has a slightly darker tint to it to make it stand out more.

Personality: Every situation requires a different approach. It is by this ideal that Thel acts, depending on the circumstances at hand. Since there are thousands of ways for a situation to play out, Thel usually sorts and orders those situations into four key areas: the way he should act while visiting home, the way he acts while on other planets, the way he acts while on duty and the way he acts while in combat. Although they share similar traits, there are differences that can be spotted by those who know him well enough or just have a good eye.

When Thel is visiting home, he acts like a Levianeili should. He holds his head high. He greets his fellows with the honor and respect they deserve. Even though he is still a relatively young warrior, Thel still commands great respect from his fellows, mainly because of his accomplishments at such a young age. Thel does not look down upon any of his kind, unless they have greatly shamed themselves and their respective family name. He admires children, seeing in them a part of himself that he knew so many years ago. Among his people, Thel rarely has to express anger or hatred, expect in the most cursed of circumstances. An example of this would be those who have yet to earn their honor flaunting it anyway in an attempt to gain false respect. Thel shows great disdain to other members of his family name who shame themselves, but he does not abandon them completely. Thel often tries to push them in the direction they need to go to regain that honor, for both the individual and the good of the family. This includes challenging them to honor duels if the need arises. Thel also wishes to have children but shows great sorrow at the fact that he cannot have a single wife and lover because of his swordsmen status. Being in the company of people who raise their own children has also made Thel start to question if doing so would be such a bad thing, but he has yet to fully follow through with that idea.

Then there's Thel when he's on planets that aren't his. Outside his own species, Thel almost downright refuses to speak to anyone unless he has too. This stems from years of being told that compared to his kind, all other species are inferior; in both intelligence and physical ability. He has been told many species care more about their pockets than honor and from what he has seen, Thel cannot disprove that notion. When he has to speak to them, Thel makes sure to slacken his posture so that he looks less imposing. He forces his tongue to speak kindly to them, having learned that when not on duty, intimidating people doesn't always lead to good results. He wears his armor while traveling, for he feels his robes are meant only for his own time, whether it be at his homeworld or aboard the ship he is on while he is resting. Still, his obvious dislike of other species is easy to see. He sits away from others whenever he visits a place to eat, tries to keep his distance from them while walking their streets and sleeps outside if he has to, much preferring to sleep in nature than in a dwelling with them. Of course, sometimes he is forced to, in which case he simply gets what he needs and locks himself away until he leaves or has to go out.

Military action is where Thel feels truly most at home. Its in this environment that Thel can take advantage of all that he has learned, all that he has been trained for. If it were his military that he served, he would proudly stand beside his brothers, order and respect them in accordance with their rank and standing. Since that is not the case, he does the next best thing. He acts towards people based on their accomplishments and actions. Because most Mandolorians fight with honor and have usually performed great deeds during their lifetime, Thel finds that he can treat most of them with almost the same respect he treats his breathern. Like at home, he despises those who would shatter this honor by using cowardly and cheap tricks. Thel knows, however, that not all species or cultures are as honorable as his is, so he leaves some room for understanding when they use them. Not a lot of room, but enough so that he doesn't backhand them the second they try them. Luckily, the Mandolorians tend to fight fair and square. Or they improvise to handle the situation, a tactic Thel finds acceptable depending on how one makes use of it. Since Thel's race has a high level of intelligence, Thel often assists on tactical meetings, putting in his input. Thel looks at all angles of of a situation and looks for the one that leads to more success than failures. He looks at terrain, numbers, weather, weapons, etc. He also looks at what would cause the less amount of damage to non-combatants. Although Thel knows that anyone can be a potential combatant, he constantly has to remind himself that his people and other species can be different in that regard. He does agree that woman and children should not be targeted, even though a small Levianeili child can easily become a combatant. Thel's favorite saying about battle is that a warrior's greatest pride comes from two things: how many they can fell before they fall and how many they can save with that sacrifice.

Finally, there is Thel's personality when in direct combat. Analyzing battle from afar is much different than analyzing a battle when in the heat of one. Decisions have to be made faster, with less time to break down the facts. Luckily, Thel's intelligence and experience allow him to make those critical actions much easier than some fresh off the rack rookie. If Thel is alone, facing a single enemy, he faces them head on, using whatever kind of combat the enemy tries to use. Gun for gun, fist for fist, sword for sword. In each of these areas Thel is exceptionally well trained, making him deadly either way. He shows respect, like in all aspects of his life, to those who fight and die honorably. For cowards, he grants them the honor of a death they do not deserve. When he has to lead a team, Thel takes a slightly different approach, utilizing the same tactics he uses when viewing a holo of a battle. He uses every advantage he can get and aims to do the most damage to the enemy with the least damage to his side. He will kill only those who require it, armed soldiers and leaders. If a child or woman arms themselves, Thel tries first to handle the the simple way, which in his case is by disarming them. If that fails, he will not hesitate to slaughter them. Most of the time, he manages to do the first approach. Thel also commands with a calm head and usually assigns people to tasks based on their skills and how well they performed before. A test is something he often does for new recruits, one that he uses to determine their role in the upcoming battles. Thel will never ask any man or woman under his command to do something he himself would not do. Finally, he follows many of his kind's military policies, such as being the first on the field and the last off and the pray for the respected fallen.

Skills: Battlefield Tactics - 6
Piloting Skills - 5
Computer Use - 5
Demolitions - 4

Attributes:

Physical Strength: 8
Intelligence: 6
Speed: 6
Leadership: 6

Unarmed:7
Melee Weapons: 7
Ranged Weapons: 5

Alignment: +2

Bio:

A Celebrated Birth

On 3637 BBY, on the planet Leviantalos far into the Outer Rim, a small Levianeili child took his first breath and opened his eyes for the first time. His mother, Rima Valamdaee, gripped her son tightly into her arms after nearly losing him, naming him after her grandfather, a well respected warrior. Then she passed out from the exhausting efforts of her labor. And thus, Thel Valamdaee was born into the world. Normally, this was no real cause for celebration; hundreds of children were born everyday. But Thel's birth had been special. Rima had come to term much earlier than expected, something that had almost cost her the life of her child. Even though she was able to make it home in time for those who would help her in the birth to assist her, more bad luck had followed. Thel had gotten stuck on the way out of his mother's womb and worse yet, he ended up coming out feet first. His head remained inside the body, unable to breathe. And a minor cut one of the doctors had accidentally inflicted had turned into a hemorrhaging flood. Time for both mother and child was short. However, some god or stronger force guided events that day and just when all seemed lost, Thel broke free. The child safe and the mother out cold, the doctors rushed Thel from the room in order to perform an emergency procedure on Rima. They knew they would be disgraced for it, but they could not let a child's mother be taken from him so soon. Meanwhile, Thel's father, a great warrior who's name Thel would only learn later, took his son in his arms and held him high, examining him. He did not smile on his face, instead settling for a smile in his heart, then handed Thel over to his brother. Then he left, knowing that he could only watch his son from afar.

Erpa Valamdaee took Thel to a basin to cleanse him while he waited to hear the results of Rima's condition. For two days, he waited. Meanwhile, one of his fellow Levianeili looked over Thel, checking to see if there was any visible damage to him from the almost fatal birth. The doctors were not allowed to examine him themselves, for while both the father and Erpa had agreed they could perform their dishonorable act in order to save Thel's mother, they would not taint Thel's new existence with their tools. If the child was incomplete, it would show later in life. On the night of the second day, one of the two doctors silently came to Erpa and informed him of the news; Rima had died from the wound. Without hesitation or even a second thought on the matter, Erpa snapped the man's neck, then carefully laid him down on the floor. Praying for him to find a more honorable position in his next life, Erpa snapped at one of his fellow's to see that Rima's body was properly taken care of. He informed his brother himself of the event. He knew that his brother would not be able to visit Rima's body until after it was buried, an honorable sacrifice for one who earned the rank of swordsmen, but the sooner he knew, the less of an effect it would have on him. Snapping at the other doctor to see to the dead one's affairs, Erpa took Thel and left Rima's home, intending never to return to it.

"Everyday is a struggle"

Thel was only kept with Erpa for six months before he was placed into the Fra'mi, a gathering of young infant Levianeili. Here Thel would live until he was old enough to be taught and trained to be the warrior he could be. But the Fra'mi itself would be a very test of Thel's ability. The newborn child, only now learning how to walk, would be faced with a daunting task everyday, even if he didn't quite understand it yet. The task of being the best one could be. The Fra'mi Thel was placed in only had children born within the last year, mixed together at random in order to avoid mixing children of great warriors on purpose. Who one's father was mattered not in this small little family. To these children, they would all be the same and only the one's who desired it most would be seen differently. They were of different families and of different parts...and yet within this small room they would spend all their time in over the next few years, they were all brothers and sisters.

The first of these years were uneventful, as many of them were still young, just barely becoming familiar with their own bodies. Thel was one of them, spending his first year and a half learning the basic things that small children learn. This included learning to speak, learning to walk without falling flat and starting to interact with his fellow children.For these first few years, Thel and his "family" were no different than the offspring of any other race. It was after that brief incubation period that the differences began to show. As purposeful thought started to begin within the children minds, so did their training. Once all the children reached that stage, members of their families would come and go, teaching the children minor tasks at first, like how to read, how to write, how to speak. For Thel, Erpa was that family member and his first words to him every visit was the same. He told him that every day is a struggle. Every day he would have to show why he was better, why he deserved to stand atop the heads of his fellows and declare his might. This phrase would eventually be burned into Thel's mind so deep that even his small child brain would never forget it, even as years passed.

As if the gods had blessed him when he was born, Thel showed himself to be of a higher class than most his brothers. Everyday was the same in his teachings from Erpa. Write this phrase out, then write it again over and over until its burned into your mind. Then speak it. Then speak it again. Then speak it while writing it. Read this passage, speak this passage, copy this passage. Other children were learning other things along with their common ground tasks, but Erpa insisted on repetition of the most basic kind. Gradually, the phrases would grow harder, longer in length and much more difficult to read. Day in and day out for the next three years molded this style of learning into Thel so that he did it with his everyday tasks as well. Within a year of being taught how to speak, Thel was speaking sentences with proper grammar, even if they were childish phrases. Two years in and he was speaking with a more mature attitude. And by the third, he was able to read, write and speak better than any of the others, even with stuff he had yet to ever read or write. Each family had a different way of teaching and raising their own and Erpa's method of repetition focused on performing something till every fiber of that task was engraved into the learner's mind. This way, he told Thel one day, that event would be remembered for years to come, even if one missed a day or two. Fine tuning was the way his father and him had been raised and it had lead to great results. Erpa then told him that the next few years of life would be much more difficult, for soon he and the others would be old enough to start hunting. And that's when his methods would truly show their effectiveness.

"To be the best, one must WANT to be the best"

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As Erpa had told him, the following years of Thel's life was unlike his earlier ones. Physical training became something they had to do daily; smaller stuff at first but it was only a matter of time before they would advance, just like their basic learning. Thel's day became a complicated schedule of various tasks and teachings, all designed to weed the strongest out in front while putting the weaker in the back. And then finding a way to force the weaker ones to become the stronger ones and so forth in order to promote competition among the children and better the group as a whole. An average day of Thel was a short job around the cities streets, followed by a quick decent breakfast. Then they would learn basic classes, such as reading, writing and other important subjects. This was again taught to them by their relatives, although now they switched up who was teaching them every now and then. Of course, the switched members were relatives of the specific child only. Learning from another family would take away any advantage they might have during the hunts. After their teachings, they would again perform physical activity, followed by lunch. After that, the children were free to interact with one another and explore the areas near the Fra'mi common room. Then, when supper had come and passed, the children would be taught history of their kind before being send to bed. Thel, following his uncle's methods, would repeat whatever he was taught in both words and writing, going so far as to write it several times over to make sure he got it.

Finally, when all the children were around the age of seven or eight, the hunt's began. The hunts were a basic test the children were to take every day, without exception for the first few months at first. When they were given their free time, all of the children within the Fra'mi would locate and kill small feathery mammals known as Chi'po's. The Chi'po's were fast, quick and clever enough to know how to evade predators much bigger than them. Being a native species to the planet, there was never a short supply of them; in fact, the secondary reason for the hunt was to keep their numbers down, for the reproduced quickly and often in large litters. In order to kill them, the children would have to use their wit in combination with their physical abilities in order to succeed. The child with the most kills at the end of the day would be acknowledged as the greatest in the group for the remainder of the day. That honor would be stripped as soon as the morning sun of the next day rose and the ritual would be repeated. Obviously, the more times one came out on top, the better it was. In accordance with their traditions, their families were not allowed to teach them anything about the Chi'pos, nor give them something that would give them an advantage over the others. Again, one would only achieve this task by relying on their own strength.

Thel's first day on the hunt was horrible. The Chi'po's proved to be worthy foes to the young child, dashing as soon as Thel caught sight of them. They ran into places Thel could not reach, ran off into crowds of people in order to hinder Thel's pursuit and otherwise showed how clever they could really be. At the end of the day, Thel hadn't managed to catch one, while his fellows had all at the very least managed to catch one. As a result, Thel was forced to repeat study instead of having dinner with the rest of his brothers, getting only water to drink. It was a punishment Thel hadn't faced yet, having always been one of the best in the Fra'mi. This setback, however, did not dim the fire within Thel's heart. Instead, it inspired him to find a way to succeed. Finishing his extra lessons, Thel went about replaying the day in his mind. Since they had no advance knowledge on the Chi'po's and he couldn't obtain information from Erpa or texts, Thel could only use what he remembered from the day. And from what he heard from the others. As night fell, Thel sat close to the three who had caught and killed the most Chi'po's, but kept his back to them. The three of them were talking amongst each other, talking about how the kills they had made. While they were smart enough to not speak about how they caught them, they did let slip little details about the creatures that Thel did not have himself. He factored in this new information along with what he saw from the day. He spent the most of the night lying awake, running through that information in his head and how to use it.

The next day, after all their early classes, the children were let loose again. This time, Thel kept his distance from the first Chi'po he encountered. Just like the other children had said, he'd found it nearer to the darker places on the streets. In this case, near an alley. From what he saw the other day, if he approached the Chi'po directly, it would flee. If he made too much noise, it would flee. He could try and kill it from far away with a throwing weapon of some sort, but he wanted his first kill to be with his own hands. Thel knew that the longer he stood around waiting, the farther and farther behind he would fall compared to the others. But Thel accepted that. To rush headfirst at this would most likely cause it to fail and all his thinking would have been for nothing. Still, he knew he had to think of something. Glancing around, Thel covered his eyes to block out the rays from the sun that were blinding him as he searched. Then an idea came to Thel. Moments later, a dark shadow fell atop the Chi'po, pinning it to the ground with two powerful hands. It squealed as it tried to escape, then went silent as Thel snapped its neck. In the moments that followed, the outside world became silent to Thel/ He could only hear the beating of his heart, the warmth of the blood on his hands, the rushing of his blood. Was this what it was like to take a life? Curiously, he lifted the creature to his face and looked at it. Its eyes were closed, the body lifeless. Despite the Chi'po having a beak instead of a mouth, Thel could swear its expression showed the fear it had in the last moments of its life. And it looked so peaceful now that its life was gone. The rush he felt was soon replaced by regret for the life he had just taken.Looking around, Thel took the Chi'po and placed it under a series of refuse, apologizing for having taken its life. A shadow behind him made Thel spin to see who had come up behind him only to meet Erpa's piercing gaze. Thel broke eye contact with him, afraid his uncle had seen his act of regret. Silence followed for a few moments, then a hand rested on his shoulder. And Erpa nodded in approval.

"Now the real work starts"

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As it turned out, Thel's regret at the lost of life was the correct choice. In battle, commanders had to make orders that would send at least some of their soldiers to their death. To not feel anything about this action would be disrespectful to those that died as a result. But the pain could only come after the fight had ended, not during. If it did, it could compromise the commander's ability to lead safely and send even more to the same fate. Regret was good....but he had to learn to put it past him until the proper time to grieve. Erpa had told him that he would understand the meaning of it when he was older. For now, he had taken his first step towards becoming a warrior. He came in last again, unable to take another life that day. But he had plenty of time to improve. Days turned to months and months turned to years. After the first few months, the hunt's were no longer mandatory. Still, many of the children continued on with them, using it to hone their skills. Training and studies grew longer and more intense with each passing day. With each day that passed, Thel adapted and grew, turning whatever knowledge he gained from the day before into another way to obtain more. Gradually, he increased the number of Chi'po's he managed to take down each day, moving greatly up the ranks. Within about a month of the mandatory hunt ending, Thel had become the best hunter, being able to grab a Chi'po with lethal precision. This was a direct result of all that he had learned about hunting them, along with the development of his body. Strong muscles were beginning to form all over his body, allowing him to be faster and stronger. As the days went on, Thel noticed someone watching him from afar every now and then, but figured it was just another Levianeili observing the next generation. Unknown to him, the Levianeili that was watching him was his actual birth father. Even though he would never know, his father had visited as often as he could to observe just what kind of child he had produced. And so far, he was impressed.

Soon, many of the children had reached the age of fifteen. Once the last child turned that age, they gathered them all in the common room. Every child had their relative at hand that day and one other made up the room's patrons. Clad in blinding white, the Levianeili soldier inspected the children one by one. He prodded them, felt their muscles beneath his hands, asked their relatives or themselves a question. When he reached Thel, his eyes widened for just a moment, noticing Thel's features resembled his fathers. A quick glance and nod from Erpa confirmed that for him, but he showed no more emotion over the matter. After hearing that Thel had become without a doubt the most skilled member of the class, the warrior suddenly snapped a strike at Thel's head with the back of his hand. Thel responded, ducking the sudden blow and charging towards the warrior's chest, sweeping in his arms low to hook the warriors legs. The idea was to slam his body weight into the warrior's chest, grabbing his legs as he did and pulling them back, allowing him to slam him to the ground hard on his back. Erpa had told him that when someone attacked you, you attack back. No matter how strong they may be. The warrior didn't even flinch from the charge, instead simply reaching out his other hand and connecting hard with Thel's face. Thel snapped back from the blow, but stomped his feet hard onto the ground to keep from falling on his behind.He was about to attack again when the soldier raised his hand to inform him to hold, then moved back to the head of the group. In a loud, gruff voice, the soldier identified himself as a Pra'ko of the Levianeili military. He had been sent to assess this Fra'mi and to decide which of them would be recruited. Those that failed would be sent out to the fields to further train until they were deemed ready. After that, silence followed. Every child in that room remained upright, their inner voices kept quiet as they waited for the Pra'ko to speak. Thel himself was running through thoughts in his head the whole time. Had that attack been a test? Had he failed? Had he passed? What was the look in the Pra'ko's eyes when he had looked at his face?

To his relief and probably to the relief of the rest of the children, the Pra'ko turned his mandibles into what passed as a smile for the Levianeili. All of them would be accepted into the military academy. However, there would be no special treatment or punishment based on how they performed in the class. Just like they had come into this common room all the same, equals with no names to live up to, they would enter the military at the bottom. And just like here, they would earn respect and advancement through their own skills and power. Before he left, the Pra'ko told them to repeat a phrase he would speak. Translated into Basic, the phrase said "Respect and honor for all that deserve it. Swift death to those that have none." With that, the Pra'ko told them all to defer to their relatives for details about their enlistment, then left them to their own devices. The second he was gone, the children started talking, to each other and to their relatives inquiring it. There were no praises or offers of congratulation, only talk of what the next day would bring. Erpa pulled Thel aside while the others talked and patted him on the back. A sign of his respect.Erpa told him although he had made a poor move against the Pra'ko, only the Pra'ko's experience and training granted him the ability to shrug off Thel's attack. Against any of the others in the common room, it probably would have worked. Thel bowed his head towards Erpa, thankful for the advice. Erpa gruffed a response, then told Thel when and where to go the next day to begin his real training. Turning to leave, Erpa was stopped when Thel gently put his hand on his shoulder. Erpa turned to face him, curious as to what had made Thel stop him. Thel didn't meet his eyes for a moment, then met his gaze. He asked what the Pra'ko had asked Erpa about regarding him. Erpa crossed his arms, looked out the door at something only he seemed to see, then turned back to him, growling a little. He told him that the Pra'ko had inquired to who his father was and Erpa had informed of who it was. He waited for Thel to ask him the same question, but Thel remained quiet. Erpa gave off the same grin that the Pra'ko had given, nodding his approval. He had learned well. Bowing to Erpa, Thel returned tot he common room to talk with his fellows. Before they had been rivals in order to become stronger. Now they would become brothers for the same purpose. The real tests were about to begin.

The Military Academy

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The next day, Thel and the rest of his Fra'mi arrived at the Academy. They weren't the only ones. At least a hundred more stood outside the Academy, conversing in small groups . Some looked stronger physically, others looked like they had been through the ringer, and some even looked like they had lived the life of luxury even though they probably hadn't. When all of them had gathered at the entrance, a Levianeili clad in blue armor approached them. He told them to separate so that they were broken up into the groups they belonged to. To Thel's surprise, they didn't group as he had expected. Aside from his group and one other, the remaining students grouped in smaller groups no more than ten. One Levianeili even stood by himself. Once they had all were grouped, the soldier nodded, then indicated them to follow. The group traveled into the large academy, moving about large hallways and open atrium's. Other students wandered about, eying the newcomers. Thel, located somewhere in the front of the pack, eyed them carefully as well. They would soon become his classmates and fellow soldiers, so any details he could commit to memory now might be helpful later. Thel noticed that there were no females but this was to expected. Even his Fra'mi had been all males. Females were cared for in a different Fra'mi; trained just like them but also taught other tasks that males didn't need to know. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of watching those who watched them, the group arrived in a room just large enough to allow them all to sit in rows. At the end of the room stood a single man, who wore simple robes with a military tone. The warrior turned to face them, reading their posture and faces. He motioned for the soldier to take his leave, then barked at them to stand at attention. The sound of a few hundred feet snapping up and thumping together echoed around the room and down the halls, like a bomb going off. Every one of them tilted their heads up, clasping their hand behind their back. Little by little they had been prepared for this day and now that it was finally here, anticipation creeping into Thel's veins. There was a little hint of fear as well, but he knew he couldn't show it. As soon as they were all quiet and standing firmly, the warrior gave them a small speech. The speech was simple, a brief talk about what they had come from, what they would aim to become and what was in the in between. After that, he gave them a chant for luck in their language, then shooed them away. As Thel left the room, he buried that little thought of fear. It would only cripple him here.

And so life at the Academy began. Like he had been told, life at the Academy was similar to life in the Fra'mi. However, whatever he learned in the Fra'mi was, pardoning the bad pun, child's play compared to what the Academy threw at him. The days all started the same, waking the students before the sun had started to rise. Their first task of every day was a mass gathering outside the Academy, grouping them into groups of thirty or more. From there they all recited the speech they had been given, albeit altered slightly to acknowledge them as a whole. Following that, the groups of thirty would go about their daily schedules. The groupings were always changing with each passing day, cycling the members so that every student worked with one another at least once. Because this initial training would last for at least a year, they would soon become very well acquainted with their new brothers. After the morning prayer and a quick gathering to have breakfast, the students were ushered into various kinds of classes. Each group started one day with one class, then started the next day with another one. They would alternate like this for two standard weeks, then for one whole week each class would focus on only one area for a day. Since this was random and determined by the staff the night before, no one could predict what they would be doing the next day, forcing them to adapt quickly when they found out. This itself was an old training technique, designed to prepare one for the ever changing conditions in the field and how to adjust themselves quickly to them. Most of the students figured this out right away, including Thel.

Classes were broken down into several key areas: military tactics, physical training, history, combat drills and piloting were just some of them. In each of these areas, Thel did what every one of them had been trained to do. Succeed. However, he did not aim to succeed by sabotaging his brothers; many of them in fact helped each other along, sometimes at the cost of their performance. Commendable as it was, they only failed because the idea was to succeed as equally as your brother. Thel found this to be the most daunting task of all. In order to find that balance, one had to find the correct way to aid their comrade and yet still perform to the same level. One could not take a bullet for another or help one up unless they could be sure they could continue on as easily. And of course, to need that kind of help in the first place was shameful when it alienated your ally. This underlying principle was found in all the classes, especially ones concerning teamwork. As daunting as the task was, Thel knew he had to find that balance. He would find that balance. Anything less was shameful to him and to his uncle, who had given all his knowledge to Thel so he could succeed.

As the days passed and the first year dragged on, Thel looked in every way possible to find the answer to that balance. It was not easy. The history classes yielded the simplest answer; what one did not know, the other might. By sharing this knowledge, they both gained the rewards without risking the other one's status. Collective knowledge, something they would have to do on the battlefield in order to accomplish their duties quickly and effectively. Other classes weren't so easy to come by. Day in and day out, Thel went into the individual classes looking for the those answers. And slowly but surely, he was finding them. In truth, it was the teamwork classes that helped him to find the answer. It first dawned on him when he realized the reason they were constantly cycling the student groups. By doing so, every student got to know each other. This included their habits, their likes and dislikes, something that makes them who they are. And also their strengths and weaknesses. Military tactics had taught him that the more one knew, the better they could use that knowledge to create an effective plan. If Thel knew what and where his teammates would be the most effective, he could move to his full ability without having to worry about them as much. It probably wasn't the best answer, but for the moment, it was the only one Thel could find. And for the most part, it worked.

Using this idea as a basis for his classes, Thel started to show great improvement. While flying, Thel would cover the things his wingmate was poor at and his teammate would cover his weak points. By observing how his teammate flew to cover those weak points, Thel found the things that he was doing wrong and finding the right method to correct them. Sometimes he would even use his teammates methods, if it yielded the best results. He only used his teammates methods once though. After that, he found a way to adapt that method to his own style so that his weak points were covered by a more permanent solution. This applied to his combat training drills and teamwork sessions as well. What he could not do he left to others, focusing instead on what he was good at. That turned out to be close quarters combat and reading the battlefield. He also had some skill in hacking and demolitions, although he left those to others unless he had to perform them himself. Tactics was the one place he didn't need to rely on others, something he could perform exceptionally well on his own. That didn't mean tactics didn't require the help of others. The battlefield was always changing. Sometimes an unexpected event would happen, or the enemy would change their own tactics. One had to be aware of these changes as soon as possible and that's were teamwork came in. While one would lead, the others would continue to supply that leader with updates on the evolving battlefield. The teachers liked to shuffle the situations, throwing in different traps or tactic changes to keep them guessing. It was through this that the entire class learned to switch tactics on the fly, to find the best answer based off what they knew and what they had at their disposal. And Thel excelled at that. Of course, the teachers also threw in scenarios that there could be no victory. Impossible scenarios. The teachers way of showing the students that not every battle could be won. They encouraged them to fight until the bitter end, inflicting the maximum amount of damage possible. The student would be judged based on when they decided to retreat. The later in the battle, the better. They would also get more points based on how many of their troops were able to actually leave the field. Thel found it hard to decide when to retreat, often leaving too early or leaving too late. Something that he knew he would have to correct for future dates.

By the end of the first year, Thel was quickly showing just how good he could be. Already he was at the top of the class in combat tactics and combat training. Others were better at piloting and there was no real leader during teamwork sessions, unless the teacher designated one to be group leader during the class. When they did, they often choose the ones who showed the best results from previous sessions. Thel's body was progressing nicely as well, the heavy physical training sessions doing their job well. At the end of that year, the same group he had been admitted with was gathered again, with the same teacher who had greeted them when they first arrived. Unlike their first meeting, the group quickly folded into the room and stood at attention, silent as a mouse. The teacher nodded in approval, then addressed them on their progress. He had to admit he was impressed with how quickly this group had progressed in terms of skill. Other groups had progressed faster, making them no special case. But it was impressive nonetheless. Still, their training was far from over. They would spent another four years in this place, repeating the same lessons over and over again. More lessons would be added in as time passed, gradually becoming more and more difficult. They would most likely not experience anything they hadn't already dealt with; only more extreme manifestations of them. After that, the best of them would be admitted to the military forces while the rest would be forced to repeat another year. He did not tell them that "the best" was not the top students, but rather the students that fell into that area as suggested by their trainers. By not telling them this, they would all try to become the best, effectively increasing each others potential in the process. The entire class could become soldiers or none of them could. With a curt nod and a repeat of the saying he had spoke when they first met, the teacher left them to their schooling.

Danger from Day One

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Four years could be an extremely short time when everyday was filled with harsh physical and mental training. Time itself was lost to Thel; his mind filled only with thoughts about how to succeed the next day. And with each passing day, Thel found those ways coming faster and easier. The rigorous training both his mind and body went through each day showed in his day to day tasks. His body, now filled out with strong muscles; his mind honed to the peak of its intelligence. Always more was there to learn, always more he could do to strengthen his body. And in no time at all, Thel was meeting again below that same watcher's gaze. This time, the teacher was flanked by two members of the military, dressed in the clothing and armor of the military's recruiters. Recruiters, as Thel had been taught, were trained specifically in the art of spying the best and weeding out the weak. They would find the ones in their group who stood a head above the rest, even if they stood only an inch above the others. Standing in single file lines numbering ten per set, Thel and his brothers kept their heads held high, holding their respective stances for the recruiters to investigate. And for what seemed like hours Thel stood in his stance, his body stiffening from being in the same place for so long. One by one, the students were taken into a room just beyond the large one they stood in. Inside, the recruiters would view the students in much greater detail. When it was his turn to enter the examining room, he marched into the room with his head held lower than the others. Out of all the students, Thel was probably the best overall. But he knew he could better himself, that some of his classmates were better in other areas. Until he could prove completely that he was the best, he would not raise his head above the others. When he entered the chamber, Thel met the recruiters hardened gaze with one of his own. The recruiter snarled at him, then rose his hand to strike Thel. Thel didn't flinch as the hand came at him. Years of training and instinct kicked in and he slipped his head to the side, catching the hand firmly in his grasp as he did. He dumped all the power he could into the grab, pushing down hard on the recruiters wrist. The snarl became a chuckle, followed by a nod of approval.

Thel released the recruiters wrist and gave him a curt nod in response. And for the next few minutes, he went over Thel's statistics, both in and out of class. He reviewed his test scores, looked over his physicals, even looked at how much food Thel consumed each day. After a screening that took roughly about twenty standard minutes, Thel was excused and told to inform the next student to enter. Returning to his place in the lineup, Thel waited with the rest of the reviewed students for the others to finish. The completed group didn't have to stand at attention, so Thel rested against the wall, reading from a datapad information about the swordsmen rituals. Someone had mentioned that he was the child of a swordsmen, a thought that could have been spurned from fact or rumor. It didn't' matter to Thel. Becoming a wielder of the sword was a great honor and only the best of the best were given that role. If he passed this test and firmly suited himself into a military role, he would look into attempting the trials. It would the greatest test he could conquer. A test that would show his earned skills, not the ones he obtained via genetics. As much as it would seem that he was simply following in his father's footsteps, if his father was indeed an honored swordsman, Thel would find a way make it his own. Thel was so absorbed in his reading that he did not notice that the last of the students was being ushered out of the examination room and that the recruiters had called for them to assemble. A nudge from his fellow brother snapped him from his thoughts and Thel quickly lined himself up, keeping his head held high despite his small blunder. After making sure all the students were lined up and at attention, the teacher praised them for their excellent scores. Others before them had proven better, but they were among some of the best in recent years. And although he wished all of them could pass, it was not meant to be at this current time.

Only the best could be recruited and the military had a certain standard they used to select their new recruits. They wouldn't go into specifics about those standards, but told them that those who passed were chosen for very good reasons. Those that did not pass should not be ashamed of it; they should use it to spur themselves to become better for next year. The military would gain because of it and so would they. Calmly and quietly, the teacher took a list from one of the recruiters and started to read it aloud. Thel waited patiently, tension tightening every muscle in his body as the teacher went down the list. The teacher wasn't only calling out the names of those who passed. He was also saying who was not accepted this time as well. As such, the teacher went through the whole list alphabetically, the failing students leaving as soon as they were told. As the teacher approached Thel's area of the alphabet, Thel felt the world slow around him. He expected to hear his name, hear them say he hadn't passed. That he would have to walk out of this room with his head held down in shame. To his inner joy, the teacher called his name with the words of praise that accompanied the ones who passed. And indeed he had. Thel snapped his head high, locking his eyes on the teacher. He inclined his head for a moment, a sign of respect and acceptance towards his superiors. He waited while the rest of the list was called out, then tightened the lines when the teacher motioned for them to do so. All in all, about forty of them had passed. Each of them rivaled Thel in body and more often than not, excelled in an area that Thel did not. Still, the reverse was also true. Thel excelled in areas that they didn't as well. Each of them waited for the teacher to speak several words of praise and congratulations before leaving himself, leaving them at the mercy of the recruiters. Once the teacher was gone, the recruiters informed the students when and where they were to report the next day. To Thel's surprise, he was being posted on board the Vigilant Justice, a small war cruiser. As soon as all of them had been assigned, the recruiters beckoned for them to leave and prepare. As Thel went back to his room and gathered his things, his mind went to the future. And it was only looking brighter. But that light was soon replaced by darkness and Thel would learn just what he had walked into.

[Jazen]

((Had to put into three parts, not enough space for it in one post))

Bio Part 2

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A Fated Meeting Amongst Chaos

The next day, Thel boarded a shuttle bound for the cruiser, which was resting in high orbit above the planet. He shrugged in his newly acquired armor, still adjusting to its tight embrace. As they approached, Thel reviewed the information given to him about the craft, its crew and its usual duties. He would be informed of his role upon the ship on arrival. The cruiser, which was one of the many ships that made up the Levianeili's fleet, was designed for quick movement and star fighter combat. During a battle, its role was to prevent smaller, single manned craft from getting close enough to the larger warships to harass them. As such, it was equipped with about half a dozen laser batteries, designed for a higher rate of fire in exchange for power. This allowed the batteries to send a barrage of shots at the smaller, often more nimbler craft, making it easier to take them down. The ship also possessed two larger batteries and four torpedo tubes, which gave it some defense against craft of equal size. The ship was not meant for combat against warship class ships. It could of course, but it would be heavily outgunned and underpowered compared to them. The ship also held a fully stocked fighter squadron of eight ships, which Thel hoped he would get a chance to pilot. All in all, the craft's main purpose was scouting the field and fighter protection. It was as good a place as any to being his military career. Thel ran through the data to quickly, then pulled up the data on the ship's captain. All he got was a name; Roka Romadee.

The shuttle docked shortly after, Thel and the nine other occupants spilling out onto the flight deck. Thel took in his surroundings as they were marched up to the bridge, where Captain Romadee awaited them. Once they arrived, the ten new recruits spread out into two lines of five, one of either side so the Captain could examine them. Positioned at the back of the leftmost line, Thel observed the golden clad soldier as he inspected each of them one by one. When he reached Thel, his eyes flickered for the briefest of seconds, then he gave him the curt nod he had given everyone else. Returning to the command chair of the bridge, Romadee welcomed them on board his craft. He gave them a small speech, one he obviously did not prepare beforehand, meaning it was something he varied for each new set of recruits. He wished he had time to properly train them in their new roles aboard the ship but they had just been handed an assignment by High Command. The Vigilant Justice was going on a scouting run to a planet within the Outer Rim, something they had been doing constantly over the latest years. Leviantalos was quickly becoming overpopulated and the lack of any major conflicts prevented the huge loss of life that had kept them attached to the planet for so long. Without them, their numbers grew faster than they dropped and they needed new places to populate. Several promising planets had already been found and with the exception of one, all of them were uninhabited worlds. The planet they were headed for today, known as Shogun, had been scouted once before. However, the high Council had requested a second ship be sent to the planet. The reason for this was that the first ship, tasked with scouting and observing the planet over an extended period of time, had missed more than one transmission. Upon arrival, they were to find out why they had not reported in, as well as prepare another survey of the planet itself.

Issuing orders for his new recruits, Roka told Thel he would assist them on the bridge at firing control. However, if it came to it, Thel would fill the missing slot on the pilot roster for their fighter squadron. Thel did not understand that order, for he wasn't the greatest pilot among the newest recruits. Still, he did not question his orders and took up a seat next to a fellow warrior, who patted Thel on the shoulder. His name was Maba and he would be in charge of training Thel on how to operate the station. During their trip to the planet, Maba showed Thel as best he could how to operate the guns. He showed him how to designate targets, how to shift power from one battery to the other, the FoF tagging system as well as simple procedures for repairing system errors. Thel took in every detail, complying with each order Maba gave him. By the time they were reverting to real space, Thel had a pretty good handle on his duty. The ship slipped from the blazing white lights of hyperspace into the cold darkness of space and Thel immediately started the warming cycle for the guns. They hadn't detected enemies or anything like that, but it was standard procedure when approaching an unknown planet. Roka ordered all hands to be ready, then ordered a full sensor sweep for the Yielding Maiden, the ship that was supposed to be here. Quiet filled the bridge as sensor's pinged out in search of the ship, broken only when the communications officer sent out a hail to the ship. A pinging seconds later told them the sensors had found something and Roka ordered it to be put on the main screen. As the image of the Yielding Maiden came on the screen, the crew gasped in shock. Only Roka maintained a silent stare, which narrowed at the sight of the ship. The cruiser had been blown apart into several pieces, its pieces drifting around the biggest portion like asteroids orbiting a planet. A closer view of the ship revealed its crew, flash frozen in the cold of space, floating everywhere. A growl emitted from Roka's throat and he ordered battle stations.

Orders and voices quickly filled the bridge as the alarm sounded throughout the ship. Roka yelled at each station to confirm their status and when he reached firing control, Thel roared that all guns were charged and ready. Other stations relayed similar status, as well as the commander of the ship's fighter squadron. Roka held back on allowing them to launch, at least until they were sure what had happened. Glancing at the feed for the planet, Roka ordered sensors to sweep it and the space around it. It was a long shot, but the chances of the attack that killed the cruiser coming from the planet was higher than any other possibility. He ordered them to drift towards the planet, at minimal speed only. Thel kept one eye on the gunnery controls while the other watched the main screen patiently. Many of the others did the same. The same silence filled the bridge once again, broken only by the still sounding battle alarm. After several tense moments, the sensor officer reported that the sweep had detected nothing, at least at this range. They would have to move closer to the planet in order to get a better reading of what was down there. Reluctantly, Roka ordered them to proceed. No sooner had the order left his mouth then an explosion rocked the ship. Luckily, their shields had been up and took most of the blast, dissipating against the cruiser's powerful shields. Roka calmly ordered for a report, only a hint of anger in his tone. Sensors pulled up an image of the craft that had suddenly sprung to life to their port. Laser and missiles were already streaking across space to meet them. Roka ordered the ship to full power and ordered gunnery to send them a similar greeting. Thel barked to confirm the order, then designated the enemy ship as Unknown 1. Lasers streaked from the cruisers weapons and both ship's started into a dance in space, circling one another as they pounded one another. Roka watched calmly as shield control reported their shields were dropping and sensors reported the same for the enemy ship. Thel continued his barrage of the ship, watching calmly as the two powerful lasers they had pounded against the ship's shields. An idea came to Thel and he switched the targeting for the ship's smaller batteries to target the same spot on the enemies ship.

Meanwhile, Roka ordered the ship's fighters to launch, not noticing any craft being launched from the enemy craft. The commander barked acknowledgment and Thel quickly marked the seven fighters that launched from the craft's belly as friends so the laser's didn't target them. The smaller ship's started to harass the cruiser and were met with a heavy barrage of fire from the ship's own anti-fighter cannons. Thel decided then to implement his plan. Locking a set of torpedoes on the enemy's forward bow, Thel launched them while cutting the power to the smaller batteries. The enemy ship, distracted by the smaller fighters, didn't notice them until they were almost upon it. Their cannons quickly turned to fire upon them. And that's when Thel fired. Dumping all the fire he could at the enemy craft at the point he had marked earlier, he punched a small hole in their shields near to where the torpedoes were. The enemies lasers detonated the torpedoes exactly at that moment. The explosion punched a hole in the ship's side and Thel continued to harass that point. Shields quickly covered the hole, but the damage had been done. Thel switched the ship's weapons back to normal, and had them dot along the enemy ship in a sweeping line. With the added strength of the fighter's, Thel expected the enemy ship to retreat. It did not. Instead, it meet the charge of the cruiser, its weapons still firing. A hail came from the enemy ship and Roka barked to put it on the main screen. The image of a humanoid man appeared, clad in armor that would have rivaled the very armor Thel wore. The man demanded to know why they had entered their space and Roka demanded why they had simply opened fire. The man told them that the previous ship had done so when they approached and they didn't plan to take chances this time. Roka considered this, then told the man he regretted the poor decision that ship's captain. However, they were honor bound to investigate the death of the ship and her crew and if they continued to attack, they would fight until one side could no longer. The man tilted his head and told him that after taking damage, they would not simply back away. Both of them gave a curt nod, then wished the other the best of luck.

Moments later, the attacking cruiser shattered in two as the Justice's weapons punched through its shields, cracking the ship in half. Because it had come in head on, not all of its weapons had been able to fire effectively at them, while Roka had kept their side present to allow all their weapons equal chance to fire. He had also kept the ship circling in a tight circle around the enemy ship, making it even harder to keep fire on it. The comm signaled again and the man's face took form upon the screen, although now he had a cracked helmet which had blood dripping through. Despite the visual slowly fading and the man's voice barely being audible over the sound of death approaching, he managed to get off the words he must have been saving for them. He applauded their courage for staying even though they would lose in the end. Confused, Roka choose not to respond to that directly, instead saying their blood would not allow anything less. The man coughed out a laugh, then wished them a glorious death. The screen went dead as the ship suffered another explosion, this one taking the remains of the bridge with it. As they watched the ship break apart further, the sensor man suddenly howled in anger, prompting the crew to turn to him. Roka literally jumped the railing to land next to the officer, looking over his shoulder to see what the soldier had cried out about. What little of his face could be soon drained of color and he cursed in their native language. Clicking several panels, the radar screen took form on the main viewer, allowing everyone to see the multitude of red signals approaching them. One matched in size and shape to the ship they had just destroyed, while the rest were much smaller and appeared to be boarding craft. Mixed in with those were what appeared to be single man fighters. Roka considered his odds, then told the crew to make best speed to pull back. While they did, he wanted them to record everything they could. Everyone rushed to their duties and launched themselves into a silent calm even as the first of the cruisers opened fire. The fighter commander dove into the swarm of approaching craft, aiming to cripple as many of them as they could. Their status lights winked out one by one until only the commander's remained and then even his was gone.

Something shook the ship and Roka snapped to what it was. From the gunnery station, Thel was able to catch the back end of several of the boarding craft latching onto the ship. Sensors confirmed they had been hooked, while another officer began getting reports of hull breaches as the craft cut their way into the ship. Seconds later, they responding soldiers were calling for assistance. Roka ordered full speed, then drew his weapon. He yelled at several of the officers to follow him, then howled at Thel to join him as well. Leaving gunnery to Maba, Thel shot to his feet, drawing his own sidearm. Roka drew a long bladed weapon as well and with a roar, headed towards the nearest breach. Thel stopped before following him, spinning back to Maba and the gunnery station. He patted Maba on the shoulder and told him to focus only on the incoming craft when he noticed he was trying to target a craft already closing to dock. Better to reduce the numbers they could hit then waste time trying to hit those they could not and allow more to slip within reach. Maba slammed his fist at not thinking of this, then immediately switched to follow that tactic. And with that Thel shot off to follow the captain. It didn't take long to find him, his roar echoing even over the sounds of battle. Thel arrived in time to see Roka slamming one of the intruders into a wall, impaling him on the sword he had drawn. The man fought for a moment, then went limp in his arms. Several more rushed Roka, who caught Thel's eye. He motioned with his head to continue on, then rushed into his attackers. Passing down an adjacent hall, Thel almost tripped over one of the invaders, who froze for a moment at Thel's appearance. Then he brought his weapon to bear. Roaring his own cry of battle, Thel grabbed the butt of the weapon and twisted the weapon down, sending the bolt crashing harmlessly against the floor. He lashed out with his leg and caught the invader in the chest while keeping his grip on the weapon firm. The invader, minus his weapon, hit the floor with a grunt. Thel pounced on him, drawing back his own weapon to smash it against his armored head. The man rolled to his side, the butt of Thel's weapon missing him by inches. Something stabbed into Thel's side, aimed between the plates of his own armor. Roaring out in pain, he snapped his arm sideways when he saw that the man had stabbed him with his own blade. Ripping the weapon from his side, Thel tried to bring his pistol around. The invader drew a second blade and hooked it through the trigger guard and pivoted. Thel pulled his hand back to avoid losing his finger as the blade snapped the weapon from his hand. For a moment, the sounds of battle were lost as Thel and his foe stared at one another; Thel's reptilian eyes locked on the man, the man's face hidden behind a T shaped visor. The man lunged first, bringing the blade in a sharp cut at Thel's already injured side. Thel countered the blow, then reached out with his longer arms to grab the man by the shoulder. His foe, thinking he had left himself open, thrust in with the blade. Thel dropped his own and grabbed his foe's blade and with a growl of pain, twisted the blade to miss his side by inches. With that brief moment, Thel rammed his head into the helmet of his foe, then slammed his much greater mass into him. The man stumbled from the blows, and Thel pressed his attack. He grabbed the man firmly and threw him into the bulkhead and advanced. Dazed, his attacker brought his blade up and tried to stab it again into Thel's side with a reverse handed grip. Thel reached out, grabbed the arm at the elbow and twisted. The blade changed direction and with a forceful shove from him, slammed into the man's throat. The man choked blood but still continued to try and fight. His squirmed for a few moments more, then went limp. Dropping his body, Thel roared out in victory, then snatched up his weapons and the swords before charging to find his next foe.

Within minutes, the invaders had been beaten off and the Justice was jumping back into the safety of hyperspace. Sporting several long gashes, Thel watched as Roka investigated their attackers, both the dead and the living. They proved to be very stubborn, but Roka told them he had no plans to kill them at the moment. He only wished to know what race they belonged to and why they had attacked without warning. He got nothing. Sighing, Roka barked at their guards to release them, weapons and all. The men looked to one another and one dared to ask why he would let them have their weapons when they had just been fighting. Roka snapped at him like a parent would snap at a child. They and their comrades had fought them head on, with honor and courage. In their culture, that was something worthy of great praise and it would be an insult to strip a fellow warrior when they were not in battle. This silenced the men for a moment, then one bowed to Roka. He told him that they were Mandolarion, a culture that accepted anyone into their ranks so long as they proved themselves by Mandolarion standards. He expressed his respect for Roka and his men, then barked an order into his comm. Reverting to real space, Roka placed them in one of the attached boarding craft that had managed to stay connected during the battle. He released them, along with a transmitter to allow them to contact their people. Then they returned to hyperspace to head home. As everyone resumed their duties, Thel considered the invaders, the Mandolarions. And he smiled at the thought of them.

The Years Go On

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Over the next five years, Thel found himself quickly becoming a well known member of the Levianeili military. For the most part, Thel's early career was quiet, consisting of missions like his first one to other planets. The Justice traveled to several other worlds, this time making sure to perform a long range scan before approaching each planet to avoid running into conflicting space forces right away. They were even part of a year long observation of a planet who's name they could not figure out. During that time, Thel focused mainly on reviewing the swordsmen rites. He knew they were a long time off at the time, but Roka had recommended that he study them anyway. When Thel asked why Roka would suggest he review them when he didn't even know if he could take them, Maba told him because Roka had recommended him to the Council for the trial. Thel was shocked, but kept his words to himself. If it was true, it was Roka's choice and Thel would only honor it by succeeding. That and his constant duties on the Justice took up most of his time.

Still, his life wasn't all studying and simple recon missions. On more than one occasion, Thel was forced into battle once again, on both land and in space. While some planets had little to no intelligent life, several of them did. In most cases, the Levianeili would approach a world and try to land colonists. In response, they were met with either acceptance or polite refusal at first followed by action if they ignored them. Planets like Rordak, Dossun and Baskarn allowed the Levianeili to land peacefully and to establish their colonies. Some of them attacked outright. Planets such as Di'wor and Godo, to name a few;saw the presence of the Levianeili as a threat and attacked them without mercy when ships came to try and land colonists on the planet. Compared to the deadly Mando's, who Thel had not encountered since his first mission, their enemies were weak and cowardly, relying on cheap tricks to challenge them. Against races like their own, the tricks might have worked more than once. Against the deadly cunning and intelligence of the Levianeili, however, the tricks were not only useless after the first try, but insulting. Generally, if the planet allowed them to land or requested that they did not try and populate the planet, they listened. Each planet was welcome to their wishes. But when they attacked without warning, especially when their targets were the unarmed colonist ships, the Levianeili responded in kind. Most the time, the planets that choose this path had a fairly sized fleet, but against the tactical superiority of the Levianeili fleet and the effectiveness of their ground troops, most of them fell with minimal losses to Thel's people. Out of the few that at least proved themselves honorable on the field of battle, the Levianeili allowed them to retain their purchase on the planet, so long as they kept their arms production to a level that would prevent them from attacking the Levianeili. Aside from that, they were left to their own devices. Those that showed little respect for honor or proved to be outright cowardly were driven from the world. It was during this time that Thel got in the much needed training in the areas he was lacking it, turning him into an even more effective warrior.

About three years after his appointment to the miltary, Thel was told to return home for a reason they did not specify. Thel was pulled from the fleet's movements against wild space and outer rim planets, the most recent of which was the Hutt-controlled Ylesia. Despite the fact that the planet's defense was mostly smugglers, they were putting up a rather stubborn resistance; though when Thel was recalled the fleet had just established space dominance and was moving to take the planet. Thel was no longer the blue armored rookie he once was though; instead he now bore the commanding red armor of a Bur'ta. Many a time over the last year Thel had lead his personally chosen squad against enemy ground and air forces with great success. Using the combined efforts and intelligence of his troops, Thel had yet to lose a soldier. They had lost battles, yes, but only because they had been ordered to retreat by their commanding officer. Typically, Thel's role on the battlefield had been to attack enemy flanks with the intelligence provided by the Rag'fo. On top of the information they provided, Thel made his attacks based on what he saw with his own eyes, adjusting his plans on the fly accordingly. Other commanders also tried to be the first into the fray, sending their troops into what was sometimes a meat grinder. As honorable as it was, Thel made the case that there was greater honor to be had by helping his race achieve overall victory on the field. So Thel often targeted key points, like heavy weaponry or the biggest cluster of enemy troops, to weaken them so that his brothers could push through. Despite his plan, Thel did enjoy rushing a point he knew he could take and was always the first into the enemy when he did. He would single out the strongest and sometimes the most worthy foe he could find while his squad handled the troops around him. In close quarters combat, Thel had yet to find an equal like the Mando he had fought that day.

Upon arrival at the Council chambers were he had been instructed to go, Thel was quickly ushered inside. Moments later, he stood before the ruling council, the Tre'pa. Anticipation swelled within Thel, for he knew the Tre'pa were the ones who decided whether or not he was worthy of taking the swordsman trials. But fear also resided within him, fear that he would not be allowed to take the test. One was only allowed to take the test once and if they were declined, forever would they be unable to try again. Of course, a heavily honorable deed could possibly allow them a second chance, but those deeds were close to suicidal in every way. This was a once in a lifetime chance and if Thel wasn't shunned for it, he would make good on that chance. Total silence filled the chamber as the Council looked down on Thel, who stood at attention, his gaze arched upwards to watch the darkened shapes above him. Even though it didnt' look it, each of the Council members had a shield being projected in front of them, ensuring any attempt on them would be useless. It was a recent feature, one designed to protect them in case of attack. It also allowed them to speak to one another without their voices being carried down to the waiting party or parties below. Time ticked by slowly in Thel's head as he waited. Finally, the lights behind the Council sprung to life, indicating they had finished whatever issue they had been discussing. All their eyes turned on Thel and he had to fight to keep his gaze matching their intense ones.

The middle member, the one who was the unofficial leader, spoke loud into a device that projected his voice around the entire room. This not only intensified the boom in his voice, but made it clear to Thel who commanded power in this room. Thel tightened his body in response, keeping his body arched to face him. The Council leader spoke of Thel's deeds at length, pointing out their pros and cons. He lingered heavily on questions that would reflect Thel in the negative no matter what he said. Thel could only answer them as best he could, pointing out why he made that choice at the time and his reasons for doing so. He did not ask to be understood, for only those there at the time could understand his reasoning. The Council member then went over a record of Thel's life, pausing when he looked over the data of his parents. He asked Thel what he knew of them and Thel gave the only response he could. Thel still knew nothing about them, but he purposely chose every time he had the urge to look to keep the information a secret from himself. He feared if he did, he would discover something he did not want to find, or would find out he was the child of greatness and try to compare to them. No, he wanted to be his own man, unburdened by thoughts of comparison. Silence followed and for a minute, Thel was unsure he chosen the right answer. Then a booming laugh echoed throughout the chamber as the Council leader chuckled. That was exactly what he had expected from the son of a heroic swordsman. Had Thel asked to know about his parenthood before this test, he would have been unworthy to take the test. But because he wanted to know nothing and stand on his own, he had passed. He would be able to take the swordsman trial as soon as he left the chamber. Also, he was going to be transferred to the special forces unit, based on his performance on the field of battle. Thel bowed his head in respect and gratitude, then turned to leave. Just before he reached the door, the Council leader stopped him. He waited till he was sure Thel was listening, then told him exactly who his father was. Thel froze for a moment, then bowed once again before exiting.

Thel found the swordsmen test to be no harder than fighting a battle on unfamiliar ground. This, of course, meant it was extremely difficult. But, through calm reactions and cool headed thinking, it was possible. Right before the test began, Thel let his mind drift to his father, a swordsman who had fought hundreds of battles against enemy forces, both on his home and on distance worlds. And he had never failed. Thel quickly shoved those thoughts aside, knowing that on this field, they would only serve to distract him. And so his test began. The first portion was physical, pitting Thel against multiple opponents at once, with only his own body to defend himself. No real challenge, for Thel had done this many a time. True, he was battered and bruised by the end of it, but he stood the winner in the end, his foes laying out cold or crippled on the ground around him. Next was much like the first, but with weapons designed for melee battles. Thel had to be cautious during this part of the test, for the swords were real and his foes were ordered to fight as if he was an enemy. Quick thinking, sharp reflexes and his own combat experience allowed him to prevail, albeit with several new wounds lining his body. One more physical test, a long run through a brutal obstacle course, remained. His body was weary from the first two tests but the years of combat and training did not make a weak body. Thel pushed his body forward with renewed vigor when he thought of the honor he would obtain by passing...and of the dishonor he would receive if he failed. Panting, Thel slammed his foot down as he completed the course, refusing to let the weariness on his body show. The one overseeing his test then ushered him into a large room, where drawings of the greatest swordsman to ever breathe lined the walls. Thel was ushered into the middle of the room, where a booming voice asked him long, often confusing questions. Thel answered each question to his best, using his views to construct the answers. After a long interrogation which forced Thel to spill everything he was out for whoever was watching to see, he was asked to place his hand on the pedestal in front of him. Something sharp stabbed his hand for a moment, then the pedestal sank into the ground. In its place rose a odd shaped device. A half circle cover with a hand grip inside, the device was littered with religious symbols. At a nod from the overseer, Thel lifted the device from its stand, noting that it was slightly big for him. Something clicked inside the device and two, plasma colored blades sprung straight out from the guards front. Thel barked a surprise, then admired the weapon in his hand. The voice returned and asked Thel to place the weapon across his chest and to take a knee. Complying, the voice told Thel that in accepting this role, he could never marry. He would be allowed to sire children, but never remain with one he made them with. He would be expected to lead the charge on every field of battle unless he was tasked with something else. Finally, he was now an agent of the Council if they should ever require his services. When they asked Thel if he accepted these terms, Thel said only one thing. And with that, he was granted his swordsman status, along with a sword that had apparently been made for him. The guard was black, with green flames licking its cover. As Thel left the trial chamber, he stopped and did the one thing he was body wanted at the moment. He roared out in victory.

Fallen and Reborn

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About a year from that day, a tragic event decided to rear its head in Thel's life. Having become a member of the special forces along with a swordsman, Thel's life had become one daring mission after another. When he wasn't deep behind enemy lines attacking critical points of interest, he was charging into the fray with his fellow brothers rallying around him. Almost every day was a constant struggle to survive. And Thel thrived off it. What little free time he got he spent seeking information about the Mandolarions, for even now they filled his thoughts. He didn't know exactly why he was drawn to them, but he suspected it was due to how they conducted their buisness. No other culture or race had come close to being as honorable as them and they alone seemed to be so comparable to his own. Because of his searches into them, Thel had also learned how broken the Mandolarion people had become. A treaty signed many years prior had crippled them, both as a people and military wise. This made Thel look into the attack they had suffered years ago and after much digging, it appeared they had been attacked by one of the clans all on its own. Having been forced to live on no world to call their own, the Mando's they had run into had turned to piracy to survive. And yet they still had maintained the sense of honor that filled much of their culture. This only furthered Thel's admiration for them; despite being lost and scattered, their culture still managed to survive.

A mission had just been handed down to him and the rest of the team that made up his special ops group. Thel was heading to Saleucami, where the locals had reported sightings of people resembling Mandolarions preparing a base in the mountain ranges. Normally, this would not be cause for concern. The treaty they had signed prevented them from calling the planet their own but said nothing about allowing them to live on planets. However, the building of a military base did violate said treaty. As such, the people of Saleucami were afraid of what they might do might happen if they were allowed to continue and put out a call to the nearest planet with a military presence. Since the Republic was busy rebuilding in the wake of events on their side, the High Council had offered them their assistance, in return for permission to start a colony of their own on the planet. The people considered the offer, weighed the pros and cons and after a lengthy debate agreed to it. Of course, they couldn't allow them to bring a fleet in and the High Council wanted to make sure their claims were legit. And thus, the reason for Thel's commando squad to enter first. They were to land on the planet, head to the location the Saleucamian had marked as the base's location and investigate it. Normally, this kind of mission would be rather simple - get in, peek around and get out. But if Mando's were involved, the difficultly went way up. They were not ones to be taken by surprise so easily and Thel suspected they would run into heavy problems if they weren't as quick as possible in their investigation. But to go too quick would force them to operate with little efficiency. Luckily, their commander had picked the time of the mission to start just before nightfall.

As their shuttle descended into the thick trees of Saleucami, Thel made sure his sword was properly secured on his back, allowing him easy access to it should he need to use it. The four man squad stamped into the forest, waving the shuttle to head for the point it would hide until they needed retrieval. As it shot back to the sky, Thel and the others dove into the thick underbrush before them, making their way for the base. After about an hour of carefully trudging through the woods, said base came into sight. The four of them split into two teams of two to observe and recon the area before they made they move. Another hour passed as they noted all routes to and from the base, possible ambush points and set up traps in case they had to make a quick retreat. Once they had the intel they needed, they waited patiently for the sun to go down. It didn't take long and soon enough, they were moving on the base, their black armor blending with the world around them. Remaining in the tandems they had split into before, Thel and his partner approached from the south while the others came from the north. Using the spec ops training which had been administered for the first few months after his joining, Thel slipped from cover to cover, always watching the angle his partner could not. Surprisingly enough, they reached the base with no resistance. Inside Thel's brain something registered how strange this truly was. He didn't think it would be this easy to get to the base. Still, it could simply mean there was a trap inside the base instead. Not wanting to let his guard down, Thel and his partner breached inside at the same time as the other group and dove into the darkened corridors of the half finished base. Moving from room to room, Thel and the others moved throughout the base within even the slightest effort. Every room they came across was empty. The same suspicion Thel had when they first reached the base swelled inside him, to large to ignore. As they approached the last room to clear, Thel began to voice his concern about the situation to their commander. As they entered the surprising large room that appeared to be a training center, a noise had they spinning to its source. At that moment, the door in front of them opened wide, revealing an armored human.

Before Thel and the others could react, the man motioned with his hand towards them. Blaster fire burst from the room around them, taking the commander in the chest before his weapon was even brought to bear. Their training kicking in, Thel and the other two dove for the small pieces of equipment laying around the room for cover. They were at a disadvantage though, as the enemy had the higher ground. As his teammates fired at the hidden assailants, Thel snapped his own weapon on the man at the door, who was turning to run for cover. He dropped with several smoking holes in his back and Thel cursed at the human for being such a coward. The man had worn the same armor as the Mando's who had attacked him before and for a moment, Thel questioned whether or not only a small of the whole fought the way the others did. Were the rest just as cowardly at all the other enemies Thel had faced? He never got to answer that question, as he spun to face the threats around him. Eyeing the door, Thel barked at his fellows to make for it while they provided cover fire for the one running. All three made a bee line for the open door. At anytime, one was running while the other two were firing. When one got low on ammo and had to reload, the one running would stop and fire in his place, the one low on ammo reloading as he ran. They reached the door in no time, although just before reaching it another of them fell. Choking back the urge to avenge his brother, Thel shoved his brother through the open door while he covered him. From within the cover of the door, Thel kicked the limp body of the man laying there, moving it out of the way. The man's helmet rolled off and Thel roared in anger at his appearance. The warrior was one of the men who had hired them, his eyes wide in shock. A quick glance around revealed there were other bodies laying about, all of them of the same race as the man before him. And among them were woman and children. They all bore armor that looked like the dead man at his feet. That's when everything made sense to Thel. There had been no Mando's here. Whoever had hired them had made it appear that there were, to drag in forces to deal with them. Most likely, they planned to eliminate whoever came to deal with them. If they destroyed the base to cover the evidence, it would appear that the Mando's had killed those who come to oppose them, as well as innocent Saluecami citizens. The armor was probably something that burned easy, so no trace of it would be left behind. Using this as fodder, the one behind this plan could plan the Mando's for it and request an attack on them to prevent it from happening again. Thel didn't get what would merit such a plan, but he intended to find out. Urging his fellow warrior to run, they made the best speed they could for an exit they had mapped out earlier, taking out any who tried to stop them. The combined might of two angry Levianeili was something the pitiful cowards were not trained to handle and they were soon dashing out into the open forest. Not two steps from the base were they when it suddenly exploded, sending Thel and his brother flying into the forest.

Blinking the blood out of his eyes, Thel grabbed his helmet and flung it off, struggling to get to his feet. Footsteps approaching caught his attention and he snarled at the group of men who surrounded him. His brother lay several feet away, his neck twisted at an angle it should not be. Seeing that he was alone and knowing he was most likely about to die, Thel grabbed the saber from his back and snapped it to life. Glaring at his attackers, Thel let out a massive roar before charging. He heard the shot and for a second, thought he was dead. But then one of the attackers dropped to the dirt below him, a smoking hole in his back and his eyes wide in shock. The attackers froze in response. Thel didn't. The first to taste his wrath wasn't even aware of it until the blade was halfway through his gut. Anger and adrenaline fueled Thel as he flung the limp body on his sword into another, then swung his body around to grab another by the neck. Another crack echoed through the trees, silencing the one who was trying to bring order to the confused troops. As he fell, Thel snapped the neck of the one he held and spun him round. By then, the others had actually regained their senses and started to open fire; half firing at Thel, the others moving for the trees to hide from the mystery attack. Using the limp body in his hand as a shield, Thel backed charged towards the nearest one, his blade removing hand and head in one swift cut. More shots echoed through the night, picking off the ones who were hiding. Thel roared in pain as one of the men actually managed to circle around and fire at him. Only one shot pierced his armor, passing through the shoulder of the arm holding his shield. Before his arm lost function, Thel body slammed his meat shield into the attacker, impaling the other through his dead ally. Another man rushed Thel, drawing a bladed short sword. Thel snapped the sad excuse for a sword from the man's hand with his sword, then booted the man right in the face. Something stabbed into Thel from behind, finding the bullet hole in his armor and sliding into it. Thel roared and turned to face his attacker. Two other's grabbed onto Thel's arms, attempting to prevent him from using his powerful arms. A poor mistake. The one who had stabbed him came in again and Thel twisted his powerful arms to slide the one clinging to it into the blade. Then Thel lashed out, grabbing the attacker's face with his powerful jaws and clamping hard. The man emitted a shriek, which was cut off mid-yell as Thel's jaws broke bone. He tore his jaws away from the man to look upon his third attacker, parts of his face still dripping from Thel's jaws. The third man fell to Thel's blade. Shots now rang in Thel's direction, one piecing his leg, another his hand. Roaring again, Thel spun to face his death.

A large hissing suddenly filled the air and from one of the treetops, a man shot into the sky. The man landed next to a set of three men gathering and within seconds, dropped all of them. Something ejected from the pack on his back and soon the entire field was filling with smoke. Thel's noise led him to his prey nonetheless, who were now blindly firing in any direction. Screams of pain were quickly silenced and soon, the rapid firing was quieted as well. Panting and bleeding from multiple gunshots, Thel turned to his unknown ally. Now that he had time to focus on him, Thel recognized the tell-tale T-visor that the Mando's were well known for. Thel was about to approach the man when his injured knee gave way and Thel hit the ground from the blood loss. Struggling to stand again, Thel was only able to manage getting to his knees. He glared at his savior, shamed that he couldn't even greet a fellow warrior on equal footing. Taking a moment to catch his breath and knowing his time was near, Thel asked the man for only one thing. That his brother be buried and honored for his sacrifice, along with marked graves for the other two who had fallen. He did not wish for one of his own, for to do so would dishonor his fallen brothers by placing him above them. The man said nothing. Groaning, Thel asked him once more before passing into the black.

Thel awoke some time later, floating in a strange container. Stripped to nothing but a cloth to cover his nether regions, Thel twisted his head around to try and figure out where he was. A strange mask covered his face, which Thel surmised was allowing him to breath while he floated in this strange fluid. Feeling exposed, Thel thrashed about, trying to find a way out of the container. Something clicked outside and Thel was suddenly expelled from the tank. As he hit the hard floor, Thel ripped the mask from his face and spun to face the being his nose smelled. It was the same man he had seen on Saluecami, the Mando who had effectively saved him. Thel tensed his body, more out of curiosity than fear, then finally realized that he was alive. How was that possible; he was sure he had suffered too much damage to have survived. In fact, most of the wounds on his body were gone as well. Turning his attention back to the Mando, Thel asked how he was standing here and why his injuries were gone. The man stared at him from behind that chilling helmet, then finally graced Thel with his voice, a deep one enhanced by the helmet he wore. He explained that the tank he had just been in contained kolto, a substance that could heal most wounds so that they never existed. It was because of this that Thel still lived, although he had spent the better part of a week floating in the tank. Before Thel could even ask what had happened after he blacked out, the man explained himself. He also explained what had happened in the week that Thel had slept. He also told Thel he could call him Rondo.

After Thel had blacked out, Rondo had debated whether or not to leave him to die with his comrades. After a short debate in his mind, Rondo had decided it would be a waste for such a proud warrior to suffer death at the hands of such tricky. He had dragged Thel, no easy feat considering Thel's size, back to his ship and transported him to a Mandolarion village, where he had left him to heal. After that, Rondo had returned to Saluecami. First, he returned to the spot of their stand and buried Thel's comrade, Next, he dug two more graves and bore his way through the wreckage of the base in the hopes of finding the bodies of his other brothers. Luckily, the base hadn't been too powerful and Rondo managed to find them, blackened and crisp from the flames. He buried those next to the first. The next day, several members of the Saluecami government were found dead, the evidence pointing to rebels within the system itself. Rondo, of course, had been the real reason, targeting the members who were in on the plan. After that, he fled the planet to handle its own devices and returned to the village to wait another two days before Thel awakened. Taking in the information he had just been handed, Thel let it sink in before asking if Rondo had learned anything from the Leivaneili end. Rondo remained quiet, then said they believed the entire squad had been killed. They were also possessed to make an attack on the first Mando force they could find as revenge. The words sunk into Thel like a dagger and he suddenly demanded his armor and a ship. Rondo looked at him for a moment, then asked simply why. Thel explained that he knew it was not Mandolarions behind the attack and he could prove it from the video recording of the mission in his helmet. He would not let those not responsible suffer for the deed they had not done. Rondo stood silent for a minute, then told Thel his helmet had been badly damaged from the fall. Thel shrugged it off, already another plan in motion. He asked to make a transmission instead. Rondo waited a moment before nodding and pointing him to a terminal nearby. Thel quickly activated the system and opened the link to his home. A familiar face appeared on screen; Commander Roka. Roka gasped in surprise at the fact that Thel was alive, but was confused as to why his transmission was coming from a planet known to have Mando's on it. Thel quickly explained the events that had transpired and after some tinkering, managed to send parts of the video recording from his helmet. Roka quickly sent this data to the Council, then told Thel they were coming to get him.

Thel was about to acknowledge when a thought passed through his head. He'd been unable to find the Mando's no matter how hard he tried and now, he was standing next to one. The chance he had been waiting for had finally arrived. Thel's eyes darted back and forth as ideas flowed through his mind. One came to him stronger than the others and taking a deep breath, Thel let it out. He took Roka not to come for him for at the moment, Thel did not wish to return home. He told him he planned to stay with the Mando and learn from him the ways of their culture. Rondo started to say something, but Thel quieted him with his hand. When Roka asked why, Thel merely said that the Mando's were as honorable as they were and he wished to repay a debt he now owed. Also, he wanted to see what he could learn from their culture itself, to see where their two cultures blended together and where they stood apart. With some luck, he would be able to return home one day with a great wealth of knowledge for the Council, which might allow them to further increase their own might. Roka stayed silent for a minute, then told Thel he woud ask the Council. While Roka was doing that, Thel turned to Rondo, who was still eyeing his closely. This time, Thel answered before Rondo could speak, telling him that to his knowledge, anyone could become a Mando if they willingly gave themselves to learn the Mando culture itself. Rondo didn't aruge the point. Turning back to Roka, he was met with the news he wanted to hear. Although they were hesistant, the Council found more benefits than faults to Thel's idea and decided to let him try it out.Thel told Roka to pass on his thanks, then cut the call. Turning back to Ronda, he grinned through his jaws and asked when they could start.

[Jazen]

Bio Part 3

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Thel Earns his Place

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And from that time on, Thel stayed alongside Ronda and the rest of his clan. It had taken some explaining, but the head of the clan had accepted Thel's offer to become part of their culture. Luck was on Thel's side that day it seemed and it wasn't done. After returning to Rondo's home, Rondo gave a brief overview of what Thel would be expected to learn. Along with their military ways, Thel would be expected to learn their language and the more docile side of their culture. Since Thel's people were already a warrior culture by nature, Rondo believed they could hold off on that side of the training until later. For now, Thel would be expected to study their language by night, the culture by day. Every two standard weeks they would devote a single day to battle culture, then they would repeat. Rondo told Thel this process should not take long, considering he already came from a warrior culture, but to not expect it to happen in an extremely short time either. Experience was the greatest weapon a Mandolarion had and by the time Thel would be ready for the trials, he would need to have a lot of it. He waited for Thel to absorb what he had been told and then asked if he was ready. Thel chuckled and patted his arm against his chest. He was ready the moment he asked for this chance.

And so, for the next year and a half, Thel spent his time according to Rondo's schedule. By day, Thel would work the fields around the camp, a lifestyle the Mando's followed whenever they were not at war. Because of the Republic's treaty, many Mando's had found alternate trades to tide them over. This included weapon and armor making. Thel willingly choose the fields, for it allowed him to exercise his body. And by night, Thel spent his time coped up in his own personal little hut, reviewing the information Rondo provided for him. The datapads he was given were numerous, ranging from information about daily life to the Mando religion. One of the key points Thel was forced to focus on was the Resol'nare, which were the six basic tenants one had to follow to become a Mandolarion. The first one, the wearing of armor, was something that Thel already did. However, he suspected that in order to truly become part of their culture, he would have to recreate his armor so that it was similar to theirs. The language would come in time. For the moment, Thel had no family with which to protect, so he considered the men and woman who would become his comrades his family. Contributing to the welfare of his adopted clan was nothing new to him, for he already had given much glory to others while serving under his home worlds military. He for sure could come to the call of the Mandalore, the ruler of the entire Mandalorian people. It was no different than listening to the commands of his superior officers. The last bit about children didn't really apply to Thel as this point in time as well, but he would do the best he could to adhere to it. This six basic principles were the first thing Thel reviewed every night before he went on to other tasks.

Time ticked by as the days passed under the tutelage of Rondo. Thel's intelligence helped him to retain the knowledge he gained much faster than most and by going over them again and again, he made sure they were not forgotten. On top of that, he performed other daily tasks aside from farming as the year wore on, to make sure he had amble experience in each. Finally, at the end of the long year and a half for his training, Thel was brought before the clan leader once again. Clad in his armor and equipped with only his sword, Thel waited as Rondo spoke to the leader A few days earlier, Rondo had gone before the clan leader and told him that Thel was ready for the trial. The old man had agreed and now his razor sharp gaze was trained on Thel. He opened his mouth to tell Thel about the trial, but then decided if Thel was truly ready, he wouldn't need to. And indeed, Thel didn't need it explained to him. The trial he was about to take, known as the verd'goten, would officially welcome him into the Mandolarion culture; provided he passed it. Thel had studied the verd'goten extensively when he could and from what he saw, it was a random test to determine one's courage and bravery. Normally, it was used to pass young children from being a child into an adult. It could also be used the way it was being used now, to welcome one into their culture as an adult within it. Thel watched the old man before him, curious as to what he would have to do. He didn't have to wait long. The man suddenly sprung at Thel, drawing a long vibroblade from his belt. The's eyes widened in surprise but he was quick to act. Drawing his own blade, Thel slammed his energy weapon against the hard steel of the clan leader blade. However, the sword, which should have been cleaved in half by the burning plasma blade Thel used, held strong. Breaking away from the man, Thel growled as he looked over the blade. Only one element could actively resist a weapon like Thel's.....beskar, an element the Mando's often had in great supply. According to the texts, if Thel passed this challenge, he would be granted the right to build his own armor out of beskar as well. The very thought made him shudder. Thel took a fighting stance and watched his opponent carefully. There was a good chance that his armor was also made of beskar, so his sword wouldn't pierce it either. Staring into the dark visor of the clan leader's helmet, Thel felt a rush he hadn't felt in years. A battle against a truly worthy foe.

The clan leader didn't give Thel much time to rest. Swinging his beskar blade a few times around, he suddenly lunged again, a sweeping blow at Thel's side to start his attack. Thel countered it with his own blade and that's when the dance began. Their blades sang as they clashed against one another, the hiss of Thel's plasma sword burning against the solid beskar of the clan leader's. Both of them were evenly matched for a while; Thel's attacks could not find their mark and neither could the clan leaders. Every attempt for an attack on the other was met with the appropriate counter, evidence of the skill level of the two warriors. Thel tried everything he could think off to try and gain an advantage over the leader and each time, the clan leader found the answer to it. When he tried power, the clan leader used speed and technique to make that power useless. When Thel tried for quick strikes, the leader made sure to be just out of the striking range when he did. When he tried technique, it was met with the appropriate speed and power to render the technique useless. The reverse was also true. Thel's power made swift attacks useless, the surprising agility of his massive frame rendered most of the clan leader's techniques void and his large attack range kept the leader at a fair distance. When it came down to it, it was Thel's physical ability versus the clan leaders years of experience. Sooner or later, one would have to prevail.

The clan leader switched tactics in response. Smoke jetted from one of the gauntlets, cutting off Thel's ability to identify him visually.Forced to change tactics, Thel backed away from the smoke, keeping his blade in front of him as he did. His eyes darted around, trying to catch a distortion or shadow in the smoke that would tell him where he was. His nose was working overtime as well, trying to single out the man's scent. However, the training area reeked with the scent of blood and sweat from the days before and Thel couldn't pick out the singular scent of the man. So Thel switched tactics as well. Discarding his full helmet, Thel crouched low, tensing his entire body in preparation for the coming attack. Closing his eyes which were useless to him in this smoke, Thel focused his attention to his hearing. It didn't take long for the crunch of footsteps against dirt echoed in his ears and Thel sprung his body up just in time. The clan leaders blade came sweeping in, aimed right for where Thel's neck had been moments before. Now aimed for his stomach, Thel debated in his head what to do, then acted. Swinging his blade around, Thel pushed the beskar blade in between the two blades of plasma emitting from the weapons hilt, then stepped into the man's momentum. His elbow shot up as he directed the blade away from his body, slamming the leader as hard as he could with said elbow as he did. Pain thrashed through Thel's arm as it collided against the unyielding beskar helmet, but he bit down the pain to continue his attack. The hit had knocked the man off balance for a moment, dazed from the blow for only a few seconds. Thel grabbed his sword arm and twisted, hearing the sound of a bone cracking from the man's wrist. Then he pulled him forward slam his knee into his chest. The leader shrugged to the side, slipping by Thel's kick to perform one of his own. Thel grunted as the kick took out his knee, dropping him to ground on it. Before the leader could strike again, Thel slammed his full body into him, knocking both their blades flying as Thel slammed the smaller human to the ground. The leader countered by sweeping Thel's arm out as he tried to push himself back up, then slammed his helmet into Thel's unprotected head. Thel snapped back from the blow, then grunted as the clan leader knocked him onto his back with a double spring kick. Years of training were the only thing that kept the man's extending vibro-dagger from piercing Thel's head as the clan leader jumped on top of him, slamming his gauntlet down as the weapon ejected. Thel snapped his head sideways to avoid it, then swung his fist as hard as he could, catching the man in the side of his helmet hard enough to send it flying. Both of them sprung to their feet as the clan leader rolled away, only to have his feet leave the ground as Thel wrapped both of his hands around his throat to fling him into the unsympathetic ground. The clan leader struggled to get to his feet, only to have his face slammed back into the dirt as Thel smashed his down again. Thel backed this time, calmly waiting for the clan leader to get back to his feet. The clan leader, gripping his broken wrist, met Thel's eyes and for a moment, they stood there glaring. Then the clan leader charged again, trying for a feint. Thel merely stood there and when the man was within reach, backhanded him to the dirt. This time, Thel placed his foot on the man's unbroken wrist and snarled. The clan leader froze for a moment, probably considering whether or not to attack, then patted his hand to his chest and then the ground, signifying that he surrendered.

An hour later, Thel was being welcomed into the Mandolarion culture. The other of the village welcomed him, many of them already familiar with Thel from his days learning the fields and other daily life tasks. Rondo merely nodded his approval and under the clan leaders watchful eye, Thel took an oath to follow the Resol'nare from now till his death, whenever it came. After a small celebratory feast to welcome him fully, Thel was brought to the main hut, where the clan leader, Rondo and several other important warriors of the camp were gathered. Rondo explained that now that he was part of their culture, there was something Thel needed to know. Something that would affect his future greatly. Thel merely shrugged and asked what they wanted him to do.

And so the story begins...

[/i]

It turned out that the Mandolarions had been planning for some time now to retake their lost worlds. Not to simply colonize it, but to own it entirely, reclaiming what they had lost to the treaty. They were far from ready and much more time and resources would be needed before they could even try. Still, now that he was a true Mando, Thel would be expected to aid them in not only preparing for this task, but participating in it when the time came. Thel had no complaints. And from that day till the day the Mando's began their crusade, Thel was as much one of them as he was one of his own people. Not long after his acceptance into the clan, Thel was given a heap of beskar with which to build his own set of armor. Using his spec ops armor as a basis and about half a year of work with assistance from Rondo in the art of metal-making yielded an impressive suit of armor, daunting in appearance and as tough as its wearer. From within this armor, Thel performed the tasks assigned to him by the clan leader, which often involved heading off world to handle matters that would assist them when the time to strike came.

During this time, Thel learned everything he had yet to learn about the Mandolarions, including several fighting tactics he could use. He was shown blueprints for their fighters and warships, aided in building them, and started to raise his own farm whenever he wasn't out running errands for the leader. Thel heard stories of the coming of the Mandalore, the leader of the Mandolarion people, but Rondo told him they would not likely see him until the time came. Time flew by as Thel came to peace with his new way of life, sending periodic messages back to his own people with just enough little details to keep them from expelling him or harassing the Mandolarion people. It was these years of his life that Thel felt like he was truly becoming a being of his own, making his way down a path no other Levianeili had ever traveled before. The thought made him tingle with hope for his future.

Finally, the time came. The Mandalorians finally came forth into the light, the strength they had been building for years finally exposed for all to see. All the little tasks and errands Thel and others had been running slid into the big picture, showing their effects as they attack. They swept quickly upon the worlds of Mandalore and Shogun from the inside out. The arid Mid Rim world of Concord Dawn feel prey to the military might that came from the conquest of Mandalore and Shogun and an alliance was formed with the world of Togoria. Though none of these worlds came easily, the Mandolarions proved why they were one of the the most feared battle forces in the known galaxy. Thel could even see what the Republic had made them sign that treaty, for a Mandolarion military force was truly something to behold when set into motion. Thel was present for the attacks on the planets of Mandalore and Shogun, acting as a member of the Mandolarion's special forces. Though he held the rank of a mere corporal, equal to the rank of Bur'ta on his world, Thel's actions and prior special forces training aided him greatly for his newly appointed task. Factor in his natural intelligence and physically daunting body and Thel was a being you did not want to face in a head on confrontation. When he wasn't running behind the scenes missions, Thel was sitting in the Intelligence division of the Mandolarion forces, using his experience and higher level of thinking to assist the members there. Thel has yet to truly face a real challenge while under the command of his new life, but he knows that as this war for vengeance drags on, he would have plenty of chances.

Password: Kylah

RP Sample: - The air around Thel was crisp, thick with the scent of blood, fear and death. From within the darkened confines of his helmet, Thel watched the battle unfold before him. Screams of battle echoed into his ears, the cries of his fellow brothers all around him forcing his blood to boil. Thel's body screamed for action, but his mind told him now was not the time. Beside and around him sat his fellow Nra'ke, all clad in the same night black armor as Thel. Their commander sat in the middle of them, reading the world around him so that his decision to move would come exactly when it needed to. Thel knew the other two members of the squad were doing the same thing, but only one the commander's orders would they move. Thel hated waiting, but knew very well the advantage of knowledge and biding one's time on the field of war. Silence was all that came from his fellows, while the battle before them reflected its lights against their armor. Stiffness started to settle into Thel's joints, but he dared not move for fear of giving away their position.

Finally, the commander grunted into their comm unit, the signal to go. Four black blurs sprung to life as the unit moved as one down the hill they had been based on, moving quickly upon their objective. Three tall towers stood before them, the communications relay for the enemies command structure. Its loss would cripple talk between the front line troops and the command center, giving their valiant brothers the chance they needed to sweep over their defenses and move on the base. The commander made a fist, pointed to Thel and of of the other Nra'ke, then thrust two fingers towards the leftmost tower, where a guard station stood. Indicating he understood with a clenching fist, Thel and his brother moved from shadow to shadow until they were mere meters from the station. Three guards patrolled around it, their humanoid figures almost making Thel pity them for being given such small, weak bodies. Of course, the Mandolarion he had encountered years ago had proven just how dangerous they could be. But these three weren't them, their bodies slumping and lazy. They heard the sounds of battle far off and assumed they were safe here. They were wrong.

The first feel to his brothers assault weapon. The other two didn't even notice this until he hit the ground with a thud and by then, Thel had swooped in on both of them, pinning their bodies to the ground as he snapped their necks. Policing the bodies and the weapons, Thel and his brother moved to the tower base. His brother went up while Thel entered the small communications hut connected to it. Three thumps later, Thel stood in the pooling blood of his enemies, placing small charges on the main communication controls. Once the last one was placed, Thel signalled to the others that he was done, then retreated from the hut to the shadows of the trees around them. His brother was soon to follow and on the command of the leader, Thel clicked the detonator. Flames blew from the inside of the hut, mirroring an explosion from the opposite side. Three more jets of flames burst to life, these ones originating on the roof of the complex, placed at the base of the towers. Metal groaned as the weight of the towers buckled from uneven support and before the giant masses of metal could fall, Thel and the others were dashing through the trees to their next objective. Thel's heart jumped for joy at the sound of battle charges being made, one in particular signaling the enemy was panicking. He couldn't wait to each the next task. Something burst from the woods and before Thel could snap from his thoughts to catch himself, the slammed headfirst into whatever it was. Tumbling along the ground, Thel rolled to his feet and spun to see what he had hit. He turned just in time to see the gun go off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thel snapped awake, a brief roar of shock erupting from his mouth. Panting, his head shot around the room, trying to locate where he was. After a few hazy moments, his sight returned to him and he remembered the sight of his own hut. He was in his home on Shogun. Thel rose his hands up, clenching and opening them to test their feeling. He had to have been dreaming, for it was the only logical explanation for viewing an event he had not seen. Well, to say he had not seen said event was untrue - the mission itself was real but Thel had never crashed into something and been shot. Perhaps this is what was meant when humans said that dreams could take on a life of their own. Grumbling that he should find a way to make dreams listen to him, Thel poked his head towards the small window of his hut, where the first light of dawn was arriving. Perhaps the dream had been a manifestation of Thel's worries. Today was the day he was set to take the final step toward becoming a real Mandolarion, the verd'goten. If he passed, he was one of them. If he failed, he dared not to think what would happen then. Failure....like he had failed in his dream. A noise approaching snapped Thel from his thoughts and he turned his head to the door, where Rondo now stood. Rondo eyed him for a moment, then pointed with his thumb to the door behind him.

"Let's go then Thel. Today's the day you either become part of something great, or go back to wallowing in the mud. Either way, I'm sure gonna get a kick out of watching you get your behind kicked."

Thel grunted, then swung himself out of his bed to prepare himself. As he clothed and armored up, Thel spoke of his dream to Rondo, knowing that he had to get it off his mind before the trial.

"I have never had such an experience as this. It was.....enlightening to say the least. But I bore you with tales of my own worries. Come, let us see what test your lord has for me today. I am eager to see what he can throw at me that I have not already faced."

All he got from Rondo was a shrug and chuckle.

"Don't worry big guy. I love hearing your stories of battle. Gets my blood running in the morning. And don't you worry about what the clan head has got planned for you. I'm sure even you will be impressed."

And with that, Thel headed off to what would turn out to be the most challenging fight of his life. He checked the blade he had earned long ago, a symbol of his heritage and of his skill. With this blade, he would pass this test. And then, those who dared to challenge his new family would face its burning touch. Over and over again.

[Rugs]

Alright, FZ, I haven't forgotten about this monster you dumped into my lap. I'll be getting to him soon. Though, on first glance, I'm tempted to tell some of those stats to come down, since they're trending on the high side, but we'll see.

[Jazen]

Well, it was either dump him or dump somet.....nvm.

Anyway, if any of the stats aren't probably backed up in the bio, just let me know and I'll tune them down a notch or think up some more stuff to back them up. Luckily, I got the patience to wait. (Lord knows I'm doing too much with Jazen, not enough with Shine).

[Rugs]

So I've started trudging through this. Might get through it all in one sweep, might not. We'll see.

Still, his life wasn't all studying and simple recon missions. On more than one occasion, Thel was forced into battle once again, on both land and in space. While some planets had little to no intelligent life, several of them did. In most cases, the Levianeili would approach a world and try to land colonists. In response, they were met with either acceptance or polite refusal at first followed by action if they ignored them. Some of them attacked outright. Several of these planets saw the presence of the Levianeili as a threat and attacked them without mercy when ships came to try and land colonists on the planet. Compared to the deadly Mando's, who Thel had not encountered since his first mission, their enemies were weak and cowardly, relying on cheap tricks to challenge them. Against races like their own, the tricks might have worked more than once. Against the deadly cunning and intelligence of the Levianeili, however, the tricks were not only useless after the first try, but insulting. Generally, if the planet allowed them to land or requested that they did not try and populate the planet, they listened. Each planet was welcome to their wishes. But when they attacked without warning, especially when their targets were the unarmed colonist ships, the Levianeili responded in kind. Most the time, the planets that choose this path had a fairly sized fleet, but against the tactical superiority of the Levianeili fleet and the effectiveness of their ground troops, most of them fell with minimal losses to Thel's people. Out of the few that at least proved themselves honorable on the field of battle, the Levianeili allowed them to retain their purchase on the planet, so long as they kept their arms production to a level that would prevent them from attacking the Levianeili. Aside from that, they were left to their own devices. Those that showed little respect for honor or proved to be outright cowardly were driven from the world.

Gonna need specifics here, d00d. What worlds did this happen on? I'm assuming none of them were Republic worlds, because the odds of such things going unanswered are zilch. Even then, they might draw some unwanted attention in doing this, so beware.

Having just come back from a battle above the planet Ylesia against the space forces of the ruling Hutts, Thel was exhausted and weary from the two month long battle in which they had been forced to fall back due to the Hutt's hidden strength.

Two months is a reaaaaaaally long time for a space battle, just so you know

[Jazen]

Specifically, I wasn't going to use any names since there are lots of worlds out there in the rim where Leviantalos resides and not all of them might not be known. If you want, I suppose I could pick some random planets(not ones on this site mine you) and add them in.

As for the two month space battle, would saying it was more like a two month siege of the planet instead make more sense? That's actually what I meant, so I should probably change that.

[Rugs]

Gyndine is a Republic world, so attacking it won't work.

No other species had come close to being as honorable as them and no other species seemed to be so comparable to his own.

Nitpick, but remember, Mandos are a group, not a species.

Also, I'm assuming the sword Thel gets/uses is the Halo sword? Because A) you'd need to make some sort of app for it, and B) I'm pretty sure Arh is fairly adamant about keeping Halo tech out of SWU, so there's something to chew on...

And by night, Thel spent his time coped up in his own personal little hutt...

This is not the hut you're looking for...

Alright, for the most part everything else looks alright. There were a few other spelling/grammar slips, but nothing to hold you back for.

Stats:

Battlefield Tactics - 7
Piloting Skills - 5
Computer Use - 5
Dueling - 8
Demolitions - 4

Honestly, these don't need numbers next to them. However, if you're going to keep them, the same things apply as the rest of the stats in that they need to be backed up. The tactics thing should come down to a 5 or a 6, since, honestly, I didn't really see anything that made him seem outstanding as far as tacticians go.

Dueling can be removed, because that's something that's really determined by writing once you get to using him IC; that and it's not really something that can be judged when he's only been written against NPCs. It also fits into his weapon scores.

Physical Strength: 8
Intelligence: 7
Speed: 7
Leadership: 6

Strength is fine. Intelligence should probably be a six, since again, I get that he's smart, but I haven't seen anything that makes him seem outstandingly so. Same goes for speed. Leadership is fine.

Unarmed:7
Melee Weapons: 7
Ranged Weapons: 5

These look fine.

As a closing note, I'm just going to say that you need to be careful with this guy. Though I'm not saying you will, he seems like he'd be easy to powerplay with, so do try to avoid doing that. Because if you do, I'll flay you with my mind.

Anyway, make those changes and get this sword thing sorted out and you should be good to go.

[Jazen]

Gyndine is a Republic world, so attacking it won't work.

Edited it out then.

No other species had come close to being as honorable as them and no other species seemed to be so comparable to his own.

Nitpick, but remember, Mandos are a group, not a species.

Fixed that mistake XP

Also, I'm assuming the sword Thel gets/uses is the Halo sword? Because A) you'd need to make some sort of app for it, and B) I'm pretty sure Arh is fairly adamant about keeping Halo tech out of SWU, so there's something to chew on...

Its not exactly the same as the Halo Sword. Yea, I can make an app for it, for there are some distinct changes to the weapon in terms of shape and look. But its Dire I gotta get it past I think, while Arh's away at least. Will inform when I have an answer for this.

This is not the hut you're looking for...
Alright, for the most part everything else looks alright. There were a few other spelling/grammar slips, but nothing to hold you back for.

Got the hut thing, thought I caught that the first time around. Oh well. And do please eye me some of those grammar mistakes over MSN or the box, cause I'd love to make sure they die painfully.

Made all the requested stat changes.

As a closing note, I'm just going to say that you need to be careful with this guy. Though I'm not saying you will, he seems like he'd be easy to powerplay with, so do try to avoid doing that. Because if you do, I'll flay you with my mind.

Yea, I'll make sure to pay very close attention to other peoples stats in relation to his and make sure I don't end up overloading his plays. I'm not that bad.....am I?

[Jazen]

swrponline2.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=weaponsandarmor&action=display&thread=9844

As requested.

[Rugs]

/-Approved-\

[Rugs]

Accepted Stats-

Skills: Battlefield Tactics - 6
Piloting Skills - 5
Computer Use - 5
Demolitions - 4

Attributes:

Physical Strength: 8
Intelligence: 6
Speed: 6
Leadership: 6

Unarmed:7
Melee Weapons: 7
Ranged Weapons: 5

Alignment: +2