Birth of a Warrior
Chapter 1
AN: While both main characters in this fic are technically OCs, Kadral will go on to become the Sith Warrior in a future story I'm planning out. This is basically a story to flesh out Kadral and Corbin, who, unlike the rest of the SWTOR characters, have no canon backstory. Thank you to Cinlat for beta-ing this story
Disclaimer: I don't own Bioware or SWTOR; if I did, Mako would already have returned to KOTET. I also don't own Star Wars. If I did, Legends would be still be canon.
Also, kudos to anyone who can identify the real life firearms the blasters are named after.
Mando'a terms:
Verd'goten: The traditional rite of passage from a child into an adult (literally means "Warrior Birth")
Beskad: Traditional Mandalorian saber made from beskar.
Beskar: Mandalorian Iron. Under skilled Mando metalsmiths, this rare metal can be forged into armor and weapons that can withstand lightsaber strikes.
Vod: Brother/ Sister (Mando'a usually does not differentiate gender). Can be used to refer to a close friend.
-'ika: suffix meaning little. Also used as a suffix to create nicknames.
Ad: Son/ Daughter
Buir: Father/ Mother
Haran Senaar: Hell Bird
Chakaar: Thief, criminal- general term of abuse.
Haar'chak: Damn it!
"Which one do I take?" Corbin Cadera asked, holding up two blasters.
"What?" Kadral Lok replied as he looked over.
"Do I take the Galaar 39," Corbin started, holding up the carbine in his right hand hand, "or the Dush'kara?" he finished, waving the bullpup-styled blaster in his left. "I mean, the Galaar hits harder, but the Dush'kara allows for much faster followup shots. I can't decide. What do you think, Kad?"
Kadral rolled his eyes at his best friend. "I think that you're spending WAY too much time on this, vod. They're both great blasters. Just pick one."
Corbin looked between the guns for a few more seconds before finally settling on the one in his left hand. "I'll go with the Dush'kara. The shorter length of a bullpup could be handy in in a tight space."
"Good choice. Now please tell me that's it," Kadral begged. "We need to get going. Our parents will be here to start the Verd'goten any minute now. I don't know about you, but I'd rather complete my trials and become a man than fondle my blasters like I'm in a harem."
"You're just jealous because you only have eight blasters," Corbin retorted.
"It's nine, and that's because I spend my money on things besides extra blasters that serve the same purposes as the ones I already have."
"Things like that custom beskad? Why do you even need a sword like that? You'd never get close enough to someone to use it before I shoot them."
"Because beskar blades never run out of charge," Kadral replied.
"Neither will your blaster if you don't waste your shots," said Brycis Lok, Great Hunt Champion and Kadral's father, as he walked into the room. Mako, Brycis's wife, and Torian Cadera, Corbin's father and Brycis's best friend, came in behind him.
"Kad'ika has a point, though," Torian commented. "A beskad can take any punishment and still be as functional as the day it was made. Besides, there's a certain finesse in fighting with a melee weapon."
"Buir! You're supposed to be on my side," Corbin complained.
"Enough, boys. Now line up so I can save this moment. Oh I'm so excited! My ad'ika is finally going to become a man!" Mako practically squealed.
"I know, Mom. The entire kriffing GALAXY knows!" Kadral said in an exasperated tone.
"I take it you got my birthday surprise…" Mako said, ignoring her son's foul language.
"Vandalizing the top five biggest sites on the holonet with 'Happy 13th'?"
"Come on! You know you liked it. Now line up," Mako commanded again. She smiled as she analyzed the two boys, who looked so much like their fathers. Corbin had his father's lanky build and blonde hair, while Kadral's face mirrored many of his Brycis's chiseled features, although his darker skin and hair color obviously came from her. "Now hold up your weapons so I can get them in the shot." Corbin held up his Dushkara and Kadral held up his own blaster, a Grek-3 carbine.
Mandalorian Weapons Industries, and Hock and Kechler- good choices," Brycis noted, nodding with approval at their choice of blaster manufacturers.
"Definitely," Torian agreed.
Mako took the picture with her implants and added it to an album of photos in her implant that she felt so lucky to have. After losing so many loved ones, being with a family for over a decade felt surreal. She was finally allowing herself to hope it would last, but then, she had thought the same about Braden… Shaking her head to clear herself of depressing fears, she followed her family to the Haran Senaar, the old D5 Mantis that had served them for so long. Settling herself into the pilot seat, she punched a set of coordinates into the nav as she listened to Brycis brief her son and adoptive nephew on their verd'goten.
"Your verd'goten will have two parts. The first is a beast hunt, the second is a bounty contract," Brycis started. "We will be monitoring your progress, but will not intervene unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. The entire trial will take place on Alderaan," he added, starting to pace. "Your beast hunt will require you to obtain three Vorn tiger pelts. After that, you begin your bounty hunt. Your target is an Alderaanian noble: Silus Ulgo. He is part of an inter-house group of Alderaanian lords who have been illegally siphoning funds from various accounts to boost their power. Unfortunately for him, he decided to sell out on his partners to the planetary government in exchange for immunity, protection, and, likely his main reason, a hefty informant reward. I normally hate dealing with Alderaanian nobles, but I make an exception if I can punch them," he said with a grin. "The group just wants Silus dead, and the only stipulation is that there be no way his death could appear accidental. They want to make sure that no one else tries to profit at their expense. Any questions?"
"Yeah," Kadral said, pumping his fist. "Where do we find this chakaar?"
"That's the first part of your trial. You should have all your research done before we land on Alderaan and you start your beast hunt," Torian answered with a chuckle. "Alderaan's a big planet, but don't worry, we'll start the tiger hunt near the city where Mako thinks he's holed up."
"I don't think, I know!" she yelled indignantly from the cockpit.
"You'll have fun, Vorn tigers are a challenging prey," Torian continued, ignoring Mako's outburst.
"I'll give you a hint: House Alde" Brycis added.
Over the next few days, as they flew through hyperspace from Mandaloreto Alderaan, Kadral and Corbin did some researching. Kadral had learned a decent amount about slicing from his mother, and, while he wasn't nearly as good as she was, he was competent enough to slice into House Alde computers and find a few interesting things.
"Well," Kadral announced, "it looks like Silus Ulgo is staying in Alde Castle, and he's got a decent amount of security. That's going to be a challenge to handle."
"Hold on," Corbin mused, looking up from tuning his blaster. "Didn't you say something about some social function coming up in five days? That would provide a good distraction."
"Yes," Kadral replied, frowning. "But noble guests will bring guards, meaning we'll have even more security to deal with."
"True, but their priority will be the noble's they're paid to protect," Corbin countered, "If we don't get close to them, they shouldn't bother us."
"Maybe, Kadral said cautiously. "So how do we get in?"
"We both have jetpacks," Corbin answered. "We can fly up to his floor."
"No, the jetpacks have a flame, we'll be seen by every guard in the area."
"True, I guess that idea is shot down," Corbin quipped, causing Kadral to groan. That was when he noticed the smile forming on Corbin's face.
"You're getting that smile again." Kadral said nervously. "You always get that smile when you either have a great-sounding idea that ends terribly, or a terrible idea that ends great."
"This is definitely the latter. What if we go in-" he paused for effect, causing Kadral to roll his eyes," -as guests?"
"I think that is a terrible idea that will end terribly, Kadral replied, facepalming. "How will we smuggle our weaponry in?"
Suddenly, Mako's voice came over the computer's speakers, startling both boys. "Don't listen to Kad'ika. That sounds like a great idea. And don't worry about your weapons and armor, we can mail them and, as long as you remove the power packs and any explosives, no one will check the contents. Once you're at the party, you can break into the mail room and retrieve your gear."
"Wait, go in without our gear?" Kadral asked incredulously.
"Oh, don't worry. Nothing will happen," his mom reassured. "I can have it rush-delivered right after you finish the beast hunt, and it'll be sitting safe and sound in that mail room. You just have to get your armor to me by the day before the party."
"I don't know…" Kadral said, looking like he was trying to think of any other option.
"Come on, Vod," Corbin encouraged. "We need to learn to be less dependent on our armor, and we can take down three Vorn tigers in three days."
"Haar'chak! I can't think of any other way in," Kadral admitted, frustrated. He was quiet for a moment before finally agreeing. "Fine, I'll do it."
"Great!" Mako said excitedly. "I'll send the measurements for your suits to a shop near where we'll land. Don't worry, I'll make sure it'll fit over a concealable chest-plate."
"Suits? You mean fancy suits?" Kadral asked nervously. "I'm starting to reconsider storming the guards."